IOI Properties Group Berhad plans a private fund backed by Singapore offices to bring in investors as it seeks to reduce debt linked to its South Beach Tower investment.
Group chief executive officer Datuk Lee Yeow Seng said Nov. 3 that the proposed fund would initially include the office component of South Beach Tower and IOI Central Boulevard Towers. Lee put their combined value at S$6 billion and said the fund could launch in the coming months.
The Malaysian developer’s 2026 integrated annual report put net debt at RM21.82 billion on June 30, 2026, and its net-debt-to-equity ratio at 0.85, compared with 0.70 a year earlier. The report linked much of the increase in liabilities to borrowing for the remaining stake in the company holding South Beach Tower. Lee aims to bring the ratio down to between 0.30 and 0.50 over three to five years.
Lee projected a yield for fund investors of at least 3.5% and estimated the assets’ yield on cost at about 4% to 5%. The fund has yet to launch, and its final terms have not been announced. The Edge Malaysia reported that Lee also gave an illustration in which selling a 50% interest in the fund could bring IOI Properties nearly RM10 billion. No such sale has been announced.
Lee also set early 2027 as the target for a secondary listing of IOI Properties shares on the Singapore Exchange (SGX). In an Oct. 13 Bursa Malaysia clarification, the company said management was still evaluating a potential listing and had not submitted a formal proposal to its board at that time. Any proposal would require board approval and applicable regulatory processes.
IOI Properties is pursuing a separate capital-raising plan in Malaysia. Its prospectus for IOIPG Malaysia Real Estate Investment Trust sets a retail application price of RM0.96 a unit for an offer of up to 2.2 billion units. The final retail price may be lower after institutional bookbuilding. The trust is distinct from the Singapore fund and proposed SGX listing. EconoTimes previously covered the Malaysian trust’s unit offering.
Applications for the Malaysian trust are scheduled to close Nov. 10, with balloting set for Nov. 12 and a tentative Bursa Malaysia listing on Nov. 25, 2026, according to the prospectus and the company’s exchange announcement.
