Paul Hastings Advises on the World’s First China-based Hotel REIT IPO

July 10, 2013

Hong Kong - Paul Hastings, a leading global law firm, announced today that it represented Morgan Stanley Asia Limited, Standard Chartered Securities (Hong Kong) Limited, BOCI Asia Limited, BOCOM International Securities Limited, CCB International Capital Limited, China Galaxy International Securities (Hong Kong) Co., Limited and Haitong International Securities Company Limited as the underwriters in the US$87 million global offering and Hong Kong IPO of New Century Real Estate Investment Trust (“New Century REIT”).

New Century REIT is the first China-based hotel REIT in the world and the first REIT to list in Hong Kong since April 2011. Sponsored by New Century Group, the largest domestic, star-rated hotel group in China, and backed by the Carlyle Group, a global alternative asset manager, New Century REIT owns four 5-star hotels and one 4-star hotel in China which has adopted a master lease structure to provide itself with a steady rental income stream. It provides a guaranteed minimum rental for the first five years after listing, and offers a yield of 7.81% (without distribution waivers) and 9.15% (with distribution waivers) this year based on IPO price.

In March 2013, Paul Hastings advised Mapletree Investments Pte Ltd. as sponsor and Mapletree Greater China Commercial Trust Management Ltd. as manager on the US$1.3 billion IPO of Singapore-based REIT Mapletree Greater China Commercial Trust, which marked the largest-ever REIT IPO in Singapore. The global offering of the New Century REIT continues to demonstrate the strength and depth of Paul Hastings’ practice as a trusted adviser on REIT offerings in Asia.

The Paul Hastings team was led by Raymond Li, partner and Chair of Greater China, and partners Sammy Li and David Grimm, and managed by of counsel Edwin Kwok with support from associate Jordan Baggs, trainee solicitor William Cheung and paralegal Natalie Li.

Paul Hastings is a leading global law firm with offices in Asia, Europe, and the United States. We provide innovative legal solutions to financial institutions and Fortune 500 companies. Please visit www.paulhastings.com for more information.