“The secondary listing can take place as soon as next year. So, we are targeting the early part of next year,” CEO Lee Yeow Seng said at the launch of the listing prospectus for the group’s Malaysia real estate investment trust (REIT) on Tuesday, as quoted by the New Straits Times.
IOI Properties has started discussions with the Singapore Exchange about the proposed listing, he said. Lee previously told The Edge Singapore that the process could be completed quickly, as the group has already met many of the compliance requirements through its primary listing on Bursa Malaysia.
The property group also plans to set up a private real estate fund in the next few months that will comprise some of its Singapore assets, including the South Beach complex and the IOI Central Boulevard Towers office building, Lee said on Tuesday.
It has begun marketing the fund, backed by S$6 billion (US$4.69 billion) in assets, to investors, he said.
Lee said the fund is expected to deliver a yield of at least 3.5%, comparable to the market rate for prime Grade-A office space in the city-state, The Edge Malaysia reported.
The moves form part of IOI Properties’ efforts to reduce its net debt from 85% of equity at end-June to 30-50% over the next three to five years, as Lee’s multibillion-dollar bet on Singapore real estate has pushed up borrowings.
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Lee Yeow Seng, group chief executive officer of IOI Properties Group, Oct. 7, 2026. Photo by SPH Media via AFP |
Over the last year, the group bought out joint venture partner City Developments’ majority stake in the South Beach complex, acquired Asia Square Tower 2 from CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust and agreed to purchase the company that owns the Shenton House building.
Following the acquisitions, IOI Properties now holds nearly S$12 billion in prime Singapore office space, making it one of the city-state’s largest commercial landlords.
The group is also in exclusive talks to jointly acquire the One Raffles Place office complex, as well as to buy the historic CHIJMES complex and Capitol Kempinski hotel, according to Lee.
Lee said IOI Properties has gradually grown its presence in Singapore since first entering the market more than 30 years ago through smaller projects and joint ventures with local partners.
“As we learn the trade and become more familiar with the market, we feel confident about venturing out on our own,” he said, as quoted by The Star.
Lee and his brother Lee Yeow Chor ranked third among Malaysia’s richest people with a combined net worth of US$8.5 billion in April. IOI Properties is part of a business empire they control that also has interests in palm oil, according to Forbes.