Bangkok--13 Feb--Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide
Tesco Lotus, Thailand’s leading retailer and shopping mall operator, today announced its plan to press ahead with its Initial Public Offering (IPO) of the Tesco Lotus Retail Growth Freehold and Leasehold Property Fund (TLGF) to be listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand.
The initial public offering will be the largest property fund IPO in Thailand’s history. TLGF will initially invest in the most geographically diversified portfolio of 17 high quality hypermarket-anchored shopping malls in prime locations across all regions of Thailand, including Bangkok and the vicinity. The total appraised value of the 17 properties - the majority of which are freehold - is more than THB 17 bn.
Tesco Lotus will continue to be the anchor tenant of these properties, leasing hypermarket and food court areas in all of the shopping malls. Tesco Lotus will also act as Property Manager leveraging its expertise as a shopping mall operator to manage the 17 assets.
Speaking on the side of a media tour of one of their star malls, Plus Mall Srinarkarin, Tesco Lotus Property Director, Sompong Rungnirattisai said:
"For more than 17 years, Tesco Lotus has been at the forefront of the Thai retail industry, pioneering modern and innovative products, services and solutions that create value for our customers and the industry as a whole. We are a best in class property manager, offering various store formats that best suit the needs of shoppers. We have demonstrated our expertise not only as a retailer, but also as a mall operator, by transforming a standard hypermarket into a one-stop shopping destination with a full range of shops, restaurants and entertainment complexes operated by more than 150 tenants, such as the case of Plus Mall Srinakarin, one of the property fund’s star assets. The significant increase in shopping mall area after the conversion to Plus Mall has boosted rental revenue from third-party tenants which has become a stable stream of income for the store.
“With the success of the Plus shopping mall format both in terms of customer satisfaction and revenue generation, we hope to replicate this success across our other properties in the future.”
Somchai Boonnamsiri, chief executive officer of Krung Thai Asset Management PCL, the fund manager, added:
“TLGF is set to capitalize on the robust growth of the Thai retail industry and the proven track record of Tesco Lotus’ successful operation over the past 17 years. The property fund also has strong growth prospects thanks to the visible asset acquisition pipeline of Tesco Lotus’ existing and future shopping malls.”
Interested investors are invited to join the big panel roadshow for the IPO of the Tesco Lotus Retail Growth Freehold and Leasehold Property Fund at 14.30 — 17.00 hrs. on February 20th, 2012 at the Grand Ballroom, Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok. Management roadshows will commence around the third week of February, with subscription following in late February.