Author: tfwee
PST – BT
Pacific Shipping to buy US$200m of ships a year
(SINGAPORE) Singapore’s Pacific Shipping Trust is in advanced negotiations to buy several ships and plans to add US$200 million worth of ships yearly to its current portfolio of eight container vessels, its CEO told Reuters yesterday.
Pacific Shipping, which has a market cap of US$148 million, is also looking at diversifying its fleet and is particularly interested in bulk carriers, which are currently enjoying ‘exceptionally’ good charter rates.
‘Before the stock markets crashed, there was a tremendous amount of liquidity chasing ships, driving up prices to a point where the corresponding charter rates did not make sense anymore,’ Pacific Shipping chief executive officer Subhangshu Dutt told Reuters in an interview.
Liquidity-rich private equity firms such as Seacastle, linked to the US-listed Fortress Investment Group, and Bear Stearns Merchant Banking have bought up vessels and shipping lines this year, but Mr Dutt said the ‘buying frenzy’ has since died down. ‘Now at least we can sit down and discuss, and prices are no longer a moving target,’ he said.
Mr Dutt said two new container ships that the trust acquired this month for US$136 million will be funded by bank loans, as the ongoing global credit crunch sparked by the US sub-prime crisis has not impacted the shipping sector.
‘The perception for shipping has not changed, which is that it’s backed by solid fundamentals and assets,’ he said, adding that charter rates for container ships should continue rising for the rest of the year, until a seasonal slowdown in early 2008.
Mr Dutt said Pacific Shipping has no need to issue new shares in the trust until 2009, after the two new ships are delivered. ‘Only then will we have the revenue stream to match the new equity. Otherwise we will end up diluting the yield,’ Mr Dutt pointed out.
Pacific Shipping was listed in May 2006 and was the first of three shipping trusts to trade on the Singapore Exchange.
First Ship Lease and Rickmers Maritime Trust have market caps of US$425 million and US$342 million.
Of the three shipping trusts, Pacific Shipping is the only one whose stock is trading at above its IPO price, though Mr Dutt said the trust’s stock price and trading volumes are still ‘below expectations’.
‘We had hoped to see an increase in price and trading volumes with the two new trusts coming in, but we haven’t seen that happening,’ Mr Dutt noted. ‘We’ll need more time and effort to help investors understand the benefits of shipping trusts.’ – Reuters
MapleTree – SGX
MAPLETREELOG ACQUIRES SINGAPORE PROPERTY FOR S$15.2 MILLION
Singapore, 21 September 2007 – Mapletree Logistics Trust Management Ltd. (“MLTM”), Manager of Mapletree Logistics Trust (“MapletreeLog”), is pleased to announce that MapletreeLog, through its Trustee, HSBC Institutional Trust Services (Singapore) Limited, has signed a Put and Call Option Agreement to acquire a warehouse in Singapore for a total consideration of about S$15.2 million.
The vendor of the property, located at 10 Tuas Avenue 13, Singapore 638983, is Pioneer Districentre Pte Ltd (“Pioneer”), which will lease back the property for 7 years, with an option to extend for a further 7 years. The acquisition will be accretive to MapletreeLog’s distribution per unit (“DPU”). The pro forma financial effect of the acquisition on the DPU for the financial year ended 31 December 2006 is an additional 0.04 Singapore cents per unit1.
Rationale for the acquisition
Mr. Chua Tiow Chye, Chief Executive Officer of MLTM, said, “We are very pleased with this acquisition from Pioneer. The property is located within a cluster of light industrial and logistics facilities and is easily accessible to other parts of Singapore via Ayer Rajah Expressway and Pan Island Expressway. We are delighted to welcome Pioneer to our family of tenants. This accretive asset adds to the Trust’s stable core of Singapore properties, which will generate long-term and stable returns for unitholders. Furthermore, given the tight supply situation for high quality logistics real-estate in good locations, rentals and capital values are expected to remain firm.”
The principal activities of the Pioneer are those of container storage, container repair and engineering work, transportation, warehousing and related services. Colliers International, in its May 2007 “Asia Pacific Industrial Market Overview”, highlighted the industry-friendly tax incentives as well as the strong demand coupled with tightening supply as the main factors that will generate and underpin demand for warehouse space in Singapore.
Funding
The acquisition is expected to be completed by 4Q 2007. T he Manager is confident that at its completion, MapletreeLog will have sufficient debt capacity to fund the acquisition wholly by debt. However, this does not preclude the Manager from exploring alternative means of funding should the need arise.
General Description of the property
The property is a 5-storey warehouse facility with ancillary office at Tuas Avenue, Singapore. The sales and leaseback arrangement with Pioneer will include the existing building of GFA of 10,822 sqm and a proposed extension of approximately 2,521 sqm of additional GFA. The expected commencement date of the proposed extension is 4Q 2007 and the completion date is expected to be end of 4Q 2008. This acquisition for a total consideration of S$15.2 million takes into account of the proposed extension area. The property has been valued at S$15.7 million by CKS Property Consultants Pte Ltd, dated 31st July 2007.
1 Assuming MapletreeLog has purchased, held and operated the property for the financial year ended 31 December 2006 (based on 41 properties) and that the acquisition is 100% debt-funded.
Source : SGX