S.F. Holding, Chinese rival to Fedex, to spin off US$786 million of logistics assets in Hong Kong REIT listing plan

Shenzhen-listed S.F. Holding submitted a Hong Kong listing application for the REIT unit on April 23, according to filing

Assets to be sold to REIT unit at a slight discount based on proposed offering price of REIT units, may be adjusted based on approved terms

Reading Time:2 minutes

A worker moves parcels at an SF Express distribution centre ahead of the Singles Day online shopping festival, in Shenyang, Liaoning province in October 2018. Photo: Reuters

Published: 9:46am, 29 Apr 2021Updated: 9:45am, 29 Apr 2021

S.F. Holding, China’s largest listed courier provider, plans to inject three logistics centres worth HK$6.1 billion (US$786 million) into an offshore real estate investment trust (REIT) to be listed in Hong Kong as part of a plan free up cash from its assets.

A listing application for SF Real Estate Investment Trust has been submitted to the bourse operator Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing on April 23, and relevant agreements on its proposed listing will be signed soon, S.F. Holding said in an exchange filing late Wednesday.

A REIT listing will help expand the group’s financial channels, enhance fund utilisation and further support its strategic assets investment and business expansion, it added.

The Shenzhen-listed group, which operates SF Express and dubbed the Fedex of China, is founded by 50-year old Wang Wei, China’s fifth richest billionaire with a net worth of US$26.6 billion according to Forbes.

Wang Wei, Chairman of SF Express, looks on during a ceremony for the company’s listing at Shenzhen Stock Exchange on February 24, 2017 in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province of China.

Under the REIT plan, S.F. Holding will sell one of its crown jewels, a 15-storey Asia Logistics Hub-SF Centre in Tsing Yi, Hong Kong valued at HK$5.29 billion. It has 160,322 square metres of floor space comprising an automated parcels sorting facility, and a distribution and warehousing facility.

The other two properties are a warehousing and distribution centre in Wuhu, Anhui province worth about HK$264.7 million, and a distribution centre in Foshan, Guangdong province estimated at HK$549.2 million, according to the filing.

Select Voice

Choose your listening speed

Get through articles 2x faster

1.25x

250 WPM

Slow

Average

Fast

00:0000:00

1.25x