Philippines telco PLDT Inc. has postponed the public listing of its data center unit Vitro REIT Inc. to 2027 citing unfavourable market conditions amid rising interest rates, the firm said in an exchange filing recently. This would have been the country’s first digital infrastructure real estate investment trust (REIT) listing if offerred in 4Q 2026, its original target period.
“In light of current market conditions and rising interest rates, Vitro REIT has decided to defer the IPO to 2027. PLDT remains committed to the proposed VITRO REIT IPO as an important part of the Group’s asset monetization and deleveraging plans, while supporting expansion of the REIT portfolio and continued growth of the Group’s data center business,” it said. No further details of the next possible target date was given.
In June, w.media reported on the proposed listing which was expected to raise as much as US$ 400 million. The IPO would include VITRO REIT’s portfolio of eight Tier 2 and Tier 3 data center assets totaling 24MW.
The Philippines central bank has raised interest rates three times this year while headline inflation has risen to 7.2 per cent in September from 6.1 per cent in August, the fastest in three years. The Philippines stock market has seen a sea of red with foreign investors being net sellers. This comes on the back of high oil prices, a weak peso and high Treasury yields.