Daily Archives: 1 Oct 2009

K-Reit Asia proposes rights issue to raise $620m

Posted on 1 Oct 2009 | Comments Off on K-Reit Asia proposes rights issue to raise $620m

80.8% of gross proceeds will be used to repay loans from Kephinance

K-REIT Asia yesterday proposed a one-for-one rights issue to raise some $620 million in gross proceeds.

The proposed issue price of 93 cents per unit is at a 21.2 per cent discount to yesterday’s closing price of $1.18 per unit. The issue price is also an 11.8 per cent discount to the theoretical ex-rights price of $1.06 per unit.

Chief executive Ng Hsueh Ling of K-Reit Asia Management (the manager of K-Reit Asia) said that the proposed issue of about 666.7 million units at this price would ‘provide significant funding headroom and put K-Reit Asia in a strong financial position to seize future acquisition opportunities’.

The manager intends to use 80.8 per cent of the gross proceeds to repay loans from Kephinance Investment. These include a bridging loan to be drawn down for the acquisition of six strata floors of Prudential Tower.

Another 18.5 per cent of the proceeds will fund K-Reit Asia’s ‘potential acquisitions and asset enhancement initiatives’, and for general corporate and working capital purposes. Continue reading →

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Delays in Sports Hub endangering SEA Games bid

Posted on 1 Oct 2009 | Comments Off on Delays in Sports Hub endangering SEA Games bid

Unlikely it will be ready for 2013 games, says minister

Singapore’s plans to host the South-east Asia (SEA) Games in 2013 are in jeopardy because of continued delays to the new Sports Hub, said Community Development, Youth and Sports Minister Vivian Balakrishnan yesterday.

The government, he added, is now in active discussions with the Singapore National Olympic Council and will make an official confirmation soon on whether it will pass up the 2013 hosting plans completely or put the Republic’s name in the hat for the next edition in 2015 instead.

Speaking to the media at Pulau Ubin where he was gracing a Youth Olympic Games (YOG) event, Dr Balakrishnan said that the government would not be hasty in finishing the $1.87 billion facility at Kallang, which has been dogged by one delay after another due to financial and legal issues and the global economic downturn.

‘Quite frankly, I think it is unlikely that it will be ready for the 2013 SEA Games,’ he said, adding that delays had to be expected because the government did not want to overspend on the 35-hectare project and cost taxpayers more in the long run.

‘The reason for the delay is because we have been so careful about spending money. For instance if we had insisted on rushing through the project early last year, we would have incurred much higher construction costs. Similarly, if we had insisted on rushing through the project early part of this year, interest rates would have been exorbitant . . . even the loans would probably have been non-existent.’ Continue reading →

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