DigitalCFO Newsroom | 10 March 2022
ESR Cayman Limited announces that ESR KendallSquare REIT has become the first listed REIT in Korea to be included in the FTSE EPRA Nareit Global Developed Index and the FTSE EPRA Nareit Developed Asia Index.
ESR Cayman Limited (“ESR” or the “Company”, together with its subsidiaries as the “Group”; SEHK Stock Code: 1821) today announced that ESR KendallSquare REIT (KRX Stock Code: 365550), Korea’s leading logistics and industrial real estate investment trust (“REIT”), has become the first listed REIT in Korea to be included in the FTSE EPRA Nareit Global Developed Index and the FTSE EPRA Nareit Developed Asia Index. The inclusions will be effective after the market close on 18 March 2022.
Sanghwoi Bae, CEO of KendallSquare REIT Management, extends his gratitude to the shareholders and the index reviewers: “Our position as Korea’s #1 listed REIT as well as the first and largest pure play logistics REIT has propelled us as the leading platform for global investors who are seeking to gain exposure to the New Economy real estate market in Korea. We are honoured that our strong growth and portfolio of quality core logistics assets have earned recognition by leading global indices like FTSE Russell. This will help further elevate ESR KendallSquare REIT’s trading liquidity with a broadened exposure to global institutional investors and index funds. Coupled with the tremendous support by the ESR Group, which is the largest REIT sponsor and manager in APAC, we will continue to pursue steady growth in our AUM and create sustainable value for our shareholders.”
ESR KendallSquare REIT has demonstrated robust growth momentum since its IPO in December 2020, cementing its position as Korea’s leading logistics REIT with an AUM of KRW2.3 trillion (approximately US$1.9 billion)[1]. It has become the largest listed REIT in Korea in terms of market capitalisation upon its successful KRW443 billion (approximately US$372 million) follow-on equity offering in December 2021 and will be the first Korean REIT to be included in global REIT indices.
Jeffrey Shen and Stuart Gibson, Co-founders and Co-CEOs of ESR, said: “The financialisation of real estate in APAC continues to fuel the growth of the Group’s REIT platform which tops the region with 14 listed REITs totalling an AUM of US$45 billion. As an integral part of this industry leading platform, ESR KendallSquare REIT has reinforced its market leadership on multiple fronts from portfolio quality and management standards to growth performance and ESG best practices. With the index inclusions, ESR KendallSqaure REIT will join its peers from developed markets, further stepping up as a pre-eminent New Economy REIT in the global investment community.”
FTSE Russell is a global index leader that provides innovative benchmarking, analytics and data solutions for investors worldwide. The FTSE EPRA Nareit Global Developed Index and the FTSE EPRA Nareit Developed Asia Index are jointly developed by FTSE Russell with the EPRA (European Public Real Estate Association) and the Nareit (National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts). The FTSE EPRA Nareit Global Developed Index has 376 constituents with a total market capitalisation of US$1,896 billion, while the FTSE EPRA Nareit Developed Asia Index has 130 constituents with a total market capitalisation of US$400 billion. According to FTSE Russell’s latest quarterly review of the index series, there will be seven new entrants into its Global Developed Index and four new entrants into its Developed Asia Index.
