Wasatah REIT IPO to close tomorrow

Wasatah REIT Fund’s initial public offering (IPO) will close tomorrow, Feb. 1. The offering started on Jan. 14.

Last month, the Capital Market Authority (CMA) approved Al Wasatah Al Maliah Co.’s request to offer, register and list Wasatah REIT units on Tadawul as a Real Estate Investment Traded Fund (REIT).

The fund offered 32.4 million units at SAR 10 each.

Wasatah REIT has a target size of SAR 1.08 billion, and seeks to pay a minimum annual dividend of 90 percent.

The sharia-compliant fund plans to acquire the Movenpick Riyadh and Coral Al Khobar hotels, with a target net yield of 6.1 percent. Both assets will be leased to Saudi Tourism Development Co. and Al Khobar Tourism, respectively, for 15 years.

The Saudi stock market started listing REITs in 2016 in a move aimed at enhancing transparency in the property sector and easing the Kingdom’s housing shortage.