SingPower to raise A$1.6b in float of electricity assets

SINGAPORE - SP AusNet, the Australian unit of state-owned Singapore Power, is raising up to A$1.6 billion ($1.72 billion) in an IPO that would be the biggest offering by a Singapore enterprise in more than a decade.

The maximum offer price for the initial public offering to be listed in Sydney and Singapore will be A$1.57 per share, and the indicative IPO range for institutional investors is A$1.29 to A$1.57, according to the prospectus filed with the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

At the top level, it will be the biggest IPO by a Singapore enterprise since 1993 when Singapore Telecommunications raised over S$4 billion ($3.45 billion) in its IPO.

Singapore Power (SingPower) is one of several Asian power utilities that are eager to list their Australian power assets acquired in recent years, as they aim to lure investors with solid dividend yields in Asia's most developed electricity market.

SP AusNet's strategy is to invest in energy and utility assets and businesses in Australia and New Zealand. It also wants to grow via acquisitions of private asset owners or through possible privatisations of state utilities, the prospectus said.

SingPower is selling 49 per cent of the Australian unit.

SP AusNet's business includes 6574km of electricity transmission lines serving over 2.2 million customers across Victoria, and vast electricity and gas distribution networks in parts of the state.

- REUTERS