Lucky bet: Chinese tycoon to buy 60% of Singapore REIT IPO

He also bought more than half of another IPO last year.

A Reuters report says that Chinese tycoon Tong Jinquan, China’s 35th richest man, plans to buy about 60% of the initial public offering of IREIT Global. IREIT is a Singapore property trust that will invest in European properties and is aiming to raise about $300 million, according to a prospectus filed by the company on Wednesday evening.

Tong Jinquan plans to buy 254 million of the 423 million units in the IPO, which is being offered at $0.88 a unit. The tycoon is chairman of real estate developer Summit, best known for high-end hotel and shopping centre Longemont in Shanghai.

The prospectus from IREIT says that the IPO will raise a total of $372 million, with DBS as the sole global coordinator for the deal and a joint bookrunner with Barclays.

IREIT is expected to have an initial focus on Germany and the UK, with a portfolio of four properties in Germany.