Japan’s NTT Group considers data centre Reit IPO in Singapore

JAPAN’S Nippon Telegraph & Telephone (NTT) is considering listing a global data centre real estate investment trust (Reit) in Singapore, according to sources with knowledge of the matter.

The Tokyo-based company known as NTT could raise as much as US$1 billion from the first-time share sale, the sources said, asking not to be identified because the deliberations are private. The data centre assets included in the Reit may be worth US$2 billion to US$3 billion, one of the sources said.

A listing could take place as soon as late 2025, the sources said. NTT is working with financial advisers on the potential offering plans, including identifying the data centres for the Reit, the sources said. Deliberations are preliminary and the company may still decide against pursuing a deal, they added.

A representative for NTT Data Group confirmed the company is considering a Reit when contacted by Bloomberg News, adding that nothing has been decided yet and declining to elaborate further.

At US$1 billion, the listing of the NTT data centre Reit would be the biggest in the city-state since Netlink NBN Trust raised US$1.7 billion in 2017, data compiled by Bloomberg show. At the current pace, Singapore’s IPO activity is heading for the lowest in decades, with only US$19.5 million raised so far this year in a solitary first-time listing by Singapore Institute of Advanced Medicine Holdings, the data show.

NTT’s global data centres platform is one of the largest in the world, spanning more than 20 countries globally, according to its LinkedIn account.

NTT, a former state monopoly, still counts the Japanese government as its biggest shareholder with a 32 per cent stake, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The company, which has a market value of about US$93 billion, is involved in integrated information and communication technology, global solutions as well real estate and energy among others, according to its website. BLOOMBERG