CapitaMalls Asia, which owns shopping malls in the region, is raising about 852 million ringgit ($369 million) through an initial public offering of its Malaysian unit in the country’s second-biggest IPO this year.

CapitaMalls Malaysia Trust priced units offered to institutions at 1 ringgit apiece, the low end of its projected price range, according to a Singapore exchange filing today. The price for individual investors was fixed at 98 sen, it said.

 

“We are heartened by success of the offering,” CapitaMalls Asia Chief Executive Officer Lim Beng Chee said in the statement. “Despite the challenging market conditions, it is priced at one of the tightest yields for a Malaysian REIT initial public offering.”

 

The IPO follows the 1.5 billion ringgit raised by Sunway Real Estate Investment Trust in its initial sale last month and underscores rising investor appetite for equities in Malaysia amid an economic rebound from last year’s recession. CapitaMalls Malaysia’s IPO may be surpassed by share sales of two units of state oil and gas company Petroliam Nasional Bhd.

 

CapitaMalls Malaysia Trust is scheduled to list on July 16 when JPMorgan Chase & Co. will act as stabilizing manager, the company said in a separate exchange filing today. JPMorgan, CIMB Investment Bank Bhd., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Maybank Investment Bank Bhd. are jointly managing the sale.

 

“It is a good proxy to the Malaysian REIT sector that we believe is due for another round of re-rating,” Joshua Ng, an analyst at RHB Research Institute Sdn. said in a report today. “Its growth prospects are good, underpinned by growing rentals and acquisitions.”

 

Singapore-based CapitaMalls Asia, part of Southeast Asia’s biggest developer CapitaLand, owns shopping malls in China, India and Singapore. CapitaMalls Malaysia is the owner of the Sungei Wang Mall in Kuala Lumpur, The Mines mall, which is south of the city center, and Gurney Plaza in Penang, according to the company’s prospectus.