Singapore: First Ship Lease, a ship finance and leasing firm partly owned by German banks including HSH Nordbank, the world's largest lender to the global shipping industry, plans a trust listing in Singapore which could raise around $340m and pay annual dividends of more than 9%. Precise details will not be available until the trust is formally launched later this week, with pricing fixed mid-March, but the deal will involve a portfolio of some 13 vessels, chartered to various entities and including container ships and chemical carriers.
The relatively new Singapore business trust structure, which involves a combination of corporate and retail investors, has already attracted another shipping firm. Pacific International Lines, a prominent Singapore container line, sponsored Pacific Shipping Trust in May last year. Based on real estate investment trusts (REIT), the business trusts are designed to attract investors by paying them above-average cash dividends and offering potential for capital gains. [22/02/07]
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