The logistics unit of Singapore sovereign fund GIC launched an initial public offering on Thursday that could raise up to US$3 billion ($4 billion), potentially making it the city-state’s biggest ever IPO.

Global Logistic Properties (GLP) — which owns industrial and logistic properties in China and Japan — will begin educating investors about the IPO on Thursday and roadshows will start on Sept 23, two sources with knowledge of the deal told Reuters.

 

The offering, which could exceed Singapore Telecommunications’ (STEL.SI) $4 billion listing in 1993, is expected to be priced on Oct 8 and listed on Oct 15, one of the sources said.

 

GLP holds assets which GIC's real estate unit had bought from ProLogis (PLD.N), one of the world's biggest warehousing firms,  in 2009.

 

It is the first time that GIC or Government of Singapore Investment Corp., ranked the world's fourth-biggest sovereign wealth fund with estimated assets of over US$200 billion, will list a majority-owned company in Singapore.

 

Companies in which it has minority stakes have listed in the past such as China Minzhong.

 

GIC does not disclose details of its assets.

 

The IPO comes during a hectic period for Asia’s primary equity market with American International Group (AIG.N) trying to list its Asian life insurance business in Hong Kong and following the massive IPO by the Agricultural Bank Of China (1288.HK) (601288.SS) of over US$20 billion.

 

The IPO proceeds will be used to support growth plans in China and Japan, as well as to pay down shareholder loans and preferred equity, the sources said.

 

“The logistics market is still quite healthy because it’s correlated to external demand and exports, imports. In the Asia region, that is still pretty healthy,” said Yew Kiang Wong, a CLSA research analyst in Singapore.

 

Citigroup (C.N) and JPMorgan (JPM.N) are global coordinators for the deal and also bookrunners with DBS (DBM.SI), UBS (UBSN.VX) and China International Capital Corp (CICC), sources told Reuters earlier.

 

A GIC spokeswoman declined to comment and the banks involved in the process either declined or were not available to comment.