CREO plans to leave Aim

飞雪寒冰

China Real Estate Opportunities, the property company, has proposed abandoning its listing on London's Aim market to list in Singapore, in an effort to improve the rating of its shares against the value of its £840m Chinese portfolio.

CREO, which owns Chinese office, retail and residential property, will consult investors on the move, which it said may help narrow the gap between its net asset value and share price.

CREO has been trading at a wide discount to the value of its assets since the real estate crash in 2008. At the close on Friday, it was trading at a discount of 68 per cent, and the shares closed yesterday down 23½p at 342p.

Richard David, CREO director, said similar property companies were rated differently in Asia, generally at a low discount or slight premium to net asset value, partly due to the proximity of investors to the Chinese market and the assets owned by the company.

飞雪寒冰

He said the move would position the company closer to its asset base and so potentially re-rate the shares in line with the peer group listed in Asia, as well as tap into the shareholder liquidity of the Asian market. If shareholders approve the move, the group could delist from Aim by June.

Mr David said the Aim market had provided CREO with a loyal shareholder base, which would transfer holdings into shares in the new Singaporean vehicle.

In full-year results yesterday, CREO's portfolio was valued at Rmb9.19bn (£893m) at December 31. Net asset value per share declined 14 per cent in the full year mainly due to currency movements, but the second half saw a 7 per cent rise to £11.37.

CREO said that progress was being made to refinance investment assets and strengthen its capital position through the disposal of non-core holdings.

The company told shareholders it would launch a tender