OUE (formerly: Overseas Union Enterprise)

[greengiraffe]

I will be very cautious on Riady family - their are financial engineering experts.

I always remember how they deplete Auric Pac's cash pile to what it is today.

Former Executive Yao Chi Wan even joked that his namesake mean Got $, he will make... show me the $ ...

Extra Care Needed
GG

Overseas Union Enterprise (LJ3.SG) could raise around 841 million Singapore dollars (US$680 million) from its planned listing of hospitality assets into a real-estate investment trust in the second half of this year, providing “fresh dry powder” for future acquisitions, Maybank-Kim Eng says.

OUE, controlled by Indonesia’s Riady family, apparently wastes little time reloading. Last month it bought the 72-storey US Bank Tower in Los Angeles–the tallest building on the U.S. West Coast–for US$367.5 million, just a couple of months after losing a battle for Singaporean conglomerate Fraser & Neave Ltd. to Thai billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi.

OUE is likely to seek more assets in the U.S., having previously noted that land costs in some U.S. cities are around 10% those of Singapore’s, with the value of properties potentially doubling or tripling in coming years as the U.S. economy picks up, Maybank-Kim Eng said. It is also looking at assets in tier-three Chinese cities, and may consider expanding its Meritus hospitality brand into Chongqing and Mandarin Gallery retail brand into Beijing, it said.

But Singapore-based OUE isn’t likely to venture into Australia or Europe in the near term, and it remains cautious about investing in the Iskandar Malaysia region, just across the Straits of Johor, because waterfront prices have escalated and other sites are less attractive, Maybank-Kim Eng said.

Assets that could be injected into OUE’s REIT include the Mandarin Gallery mall and Mandarin Orchard hotel in Singapore’s busy Orchard district, the house said. Mandarin Orchard directly benefits from medical tourism because it is near Mount Elizabeth Hospital, and attracts other tourists due to its size and prime shopping location, while Crowne Plaza is connected to Changi Airport and is a short distance from Singapore’s largest convention venue, it said.