On March 15, Prime US REIT OXMU 's manager announced that Harmeet Singh Bedi would be resigning from his appointment as Chief Executive Officer of the Manager with effect from March 31 to pursue other opportunities. He will however, continue to support the Manager in the capacity of a senior advisor.
The Board has identified Rahul Rana as the new Chief Executive Officer of the Manager. Rana is a shareholder of KBS Asia Partners, which is the sponsor of Prime US REIT, and holds 40% of the shares of the Manager.
The new CEO was a Managing Director, Corporate and Investment Bank at Deutsche Bank NA Singapore from 2010 to 2015.
Prime US REIT reported a distribution per unit (DPU) of 2.71 US cents (3.6 cents) for the FY2023 ended Dec 31, 2023, 58.6% lower than the DPU of 6.55 US cents in the FY2022.
For the 2HFY2023, the REIT manager has decided to pay a cash distribution of 0.25 US cents, which is equivalent to about 10% of its total distributable income for the half-year.
The distribution of 10% in cash for the 2HFY2023 was so that the REIT could preserve a “substantial portion” of distributable income to meet its capital expenditure (capex) needs. It would also “provide creditors with the assurance that PRIME will reinvest cash flows in the business alongside its lenders” says the REIT manager.
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In addition to the cash distribution, the REIT manager has announced a 1-for-10 bonus issue. The issue translates to about 1.03 US cents per unit, or 43% of the distributable income for the 2HFY2023. The bonus issue is fully paid with nil consideration, says the REIT manager.
