MANILA - Robinsons' RL Commercial REIT Inc on Tuesday listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange as the country's "largest" real estate investment trust offering in terms of market capitalization.

RL Commercial REIT Inc is the country's "biggest REIT so far" in terms of market capitalization of P64.2 billion, amount of capital raised, total gross leasable area and valuation of initial property portfolio, PSE President Ramon Monzon said during the listing ceremony.

RCR said its offering also has the biggest assets and longest lease tenure of 99 years.

It has a portfolio of 14 PEZA (Philippine Economic Zone Authority) accredited commercial properties in diverse locations across the country, with a total gross leasable area of 425,315 sqm, RCR said.

Local and foreign institutional investors "heavily supported" RCR's IPO, and local small investors from 52 provinces and 14 countries also joined, Monzon said.

• Robinsons sets final offer price for real estate investment trust offering
• Robinsons Land Corp seeks approval of its real estate investment trust offer

The company earlier said proceeds of the IPO would be used in its Philippine projects that include malls, offices, residences, hotels, industrials and logistics facilities, among others.

"The success of our IPO underscores the Philippines’ potential as a vibrant REIT market and it bodes well for the future of commercial real estate in the country," RCR Chairman Frederick Go.

Watch more in iWantv or TFC.tv

Real estate investment trust (REITs) is a financial instrument that allows investors, even the smaller ones, to participate in the real estate industry and earn through dividends.

The interest in RCR's REITs offering is a "vote of confidence that the Philippine economy is on track to a solid recovery from the difficulty brought by the pandemic," Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez said during the listing ceremony.

Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Emilio Aquino said REITs "democratized" investing for Filipinos and offered a "viable option to avoid scams and risky investment products being peddled on the internet and social media."

More Filipinos have started investing during the COVID-19 pandemic with local investors taking up 25.9 percent of total retail investors in 2020 from 18.2 percent the previous year, Monzon earlier said.

Other developers have listed their own REITs offering including Ayala Land's AREIT, DoubleDragon's DDMP and Filinvest's Filinvest REIT.

Megaworld is also set to launch its own REITs offering, MREIT.

• Megaworld sets final offer price of REITs initial public offering
• Filinvest REIT's initial public offering gets Philippine Stock Exchange nod
• Philippines set to take rare top spot for IPOs in Southeast Asia

RELATED VIDEO:

Watch more in iWantv or TFC.tv