A year after privatization, Singapore-headquartered real estate investment firm ARA Asset Management, has more than doubled its assets under management (AUM) to S$78 billion. Its scorching pace of growth is set to see ARA hitting its AUM target of S$100 billion a lot earlier than 2021, bringing with it fresh speculation on its plans for a second public offering.
While media reports had earlier quoted ARA management stating it would look at its next IPO when its AUM crosses the S$100 billion mark, Ng Beng Tiong, CEO, ARA Private Funds & Assistant Group CEO, ARA Group, is of the view that assets under management is only a ‘number’, and the firm should look at another 1-2 years before revisiting the question of listing.
“While listing is certainly a possibility, it is not the only option we have,” he said in an interaction.
“AUM is only a number. Whether we hit S$100 billion, or S$150 billion or even S$200 billion, it will still be a number. But for ARA to be appealing to investors in a re-listing, we must have the right ingredients – the breadth and depth of the business, the best team and a wide range of interesting product offering. These will ultimately translate into sustainability of earnings and growth prospects. That is really what we are working hard on now. We are becoming a very exciting company as we speak,” he added.
When it had delisted from the Singapore Exchange last year, the real estate investment manager headed by Group CEO and co-founder John Lim, had roped in global private equity major Warburg Pincus (which became its largest shareholder with just under 31% stake), as well as China’s AVIC Trust Co, a unit of the Shanghai-listed AVIC Capital Co., which acquired 20.48%, while existing shareholders Straits Trading Company and Cheung Kong ended up with just under 20.95% and 8% respectively.
With global Limited Partners (LPs) making increased allocations to real estate, Ng said the firm’s track record, and its investor-operator model, would appeal to investors, enabling it to differentiate itself in a highly competitive space, even as he added that ARA was going around the world to tap the dry powder to expand its global footprint.
“We have also offered alternative products, be they debt or new asset classes. Our mezzanine fund product has done well in Australia. In addition, riding on infrastructure needs and investor appetite for infrastructure investments, we set up an infrastructure division earlier this year, thus propelling ARA from being a real estate fund manager to a real assets fund manager,” he added.
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