AMTD completes S$94M SGX private placement of Dasin Retail Trust

On June 26, 2020, AMTD completed the S$94 million private placement transaction of Dasin Retail Trust (SGX: CEDU), the only China retail property trust in the Greater Bay Area listed on the Main Board of Singapore Exchange (“SGX”), as a joint bookrunner. This transaction is the second equity capital markets deal completed by AMTD in Singapore following AMTD International’s secondary listing on SGX in April this year, and the first REIT deal completed by AMTD, which marked another milestone of AMTD on its developments in Singapore capital markets after building unparalleled positions in Hong Kong and the US markets, and showcased AMTD’s strong capabilities to provide comprehensive international capital markets services to leading enterprises from the Great Bay Area, Greater China and even the whole Asia. AMTD completed this private placement on the SGX of the retail property trust from the Greater Bay Area within less than two months since AMTD and SGX entered into a strategic collaboration agreement in May 2020, demonstrating AMTD's commitment and capabilities in promoting the cooperation between the Greater Bay Area, Singapore and across the ASEAN region.

Dasin Retail Trust issues 120,512,000 new units in this private placement at the price of S$0.78 per unit, raising S$94 million in total. The use of proceeds is mainly to fund the acquisition of Shunde Metro Mall in Shunde district, Foshan City and Tanbei Metro Mall in Dongshen Town, Zhongshan. The enlarged portfolio will provide better income resilience. Dasin Retail Trust was listed in January 2017 and currently comprises five shopping malls which are all located in the Greater Bay Area, benefiting the population and tourism growth encouraged by the regional economic development. The sponsor of Dasin Retail Trust, Zhongshan Dasin Real Estate, is a subsidiary of Dasin Holdings, an established large private conglomerate with over 16 years of track record, which has developed the first shopping mall in Zhongshan City and established a comprehensive retail ecosystem to fuel the continued growth of Dasin Retail Trust. Based on IPO price at S$0.80 per unit, Dasin Retail Trust achieved a yield as high as 8.5% in 2019.

AMTD has been always committed to becoming the “Super Connector” between the Greater Bay Area and Southeast Asia with Singapore as its international headquarters and focus of strategic developments to further expand in Southeast Asia markets. This year, AMTD has implemented a series of major strategic actions to promote the prosperity of Singapore's capital market from various aspects. In June 2020, AMTD announced the strategic acquisition of CapBridge, Singapore’s first licensed private securities exchange and integrated private market ecosystem platform, which will cooperate with AMTD International’s investment banking platform to cover all stages of financing needs across corporates’ different life cycles for complete value chain solutions. The acquisition is subject to the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) approval; In May 2020, AMTD and SGX entered into a long-term strategic partnership to promote the development of Singapore’s capital markets and strengthen connectivity between Singapore, ASEAN, the Greater Bay Area, and the rest of China, bringing more high-quality issuers and deals to Singapore; In April 2020, AMTD International was successfully listed on the Main Board of SGX, becoming the first company dual-listed on NYSE and SGX, and the first company with dual class shares structure listed in Singapore; Prior to the secondary listing in Singapore, AMTD International also announced the dual-listing of the US$1.0 billion medium term note on SGX and SEHK.

In addition, AMTD has broadly invested and deployed in the FinTech area, becoming a significant leading and supporting power to Singapore and Southeast Asia’s FinTech community. Since 2017, AMTD has supported and co-hosted Singapore FinTech Festival as a founding sponsor for three consecutive years; At the end of 2019, AMTD led a consortium together with SP Group, Xiaomi, and Funding Societies to apply for a digital wholesale bank license in Singapore; During the 50th World Economic Forum at Davos this year, AMTD hosted “Smart Asia: Connecting the Greater Bay Area with ASEAN” event to promote the cooperation and connection of these two areas; In April 2020, AMTD partnered with the ASEAN Financial Innovation Network (“AFIN”, a non-profit entity formed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, and the ASEAN Bankers Association. Its Corporate Founding Members are AMTD and Mastercard) to establish the AMTD ASEAN-Solidarity Fund with an initially available capital of S$50million to support and anchor FinTech companies in ASEAN countries; In May 2020, MAS, Singapore FinTech Association (SFA), and AMTD announced the launch of a S$6 million MAS-SFA-AMTD FinTech Solidarity Grant to support Singapore-based FinTech firms amid the challenging business climate caused by the COVID-19 pandemic; In June 2020, AMTD completed the acquisition of Singapore’s leading InsurTech company PolicyPal, which marks the first controlling stake acquisition in the Southeast Asian InsurTech industry since the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic.

AMTD is also dedicated to cultivating talents to strengthen the long-term competitiveness of local entrepreneurs in Singapore, continuously bringing innovative power to Singapore. AMTD, Xiaomi Finance, Singapore Management University and the Institute of Systems Science at the National University of Singapore jointly launched the AMTD-Xiaomi-SMU-ISS Digital Finance Leadership Programme; AMTD also join forces with SFA to establish an AMTD Global FinTech Fellowship Programme in Singapore. AMTD has diversified businesses in real estate investment and hospitality areas as well. In particular, AMTD Assets Alpha Group acquired Singapore's landmark building from OUE and renamed it as AMTD Singapore Oakwood Premier.

Both AMTD and Dasin have the visions to connect the Greater Bay Area with Southeast Asia and develop globally. With this transaction as the starting point, the two parties will explore closer and deeper cooperation to achieve synergies and win-win in various verticals and aspects.