Minor eyes Singapore REIT launch later this year

INTERNATIONAL REPORT — Bangkok, Thailand-based Minor International is closer to launching its first hotel REIT with a Singapore listing, which has long been discussed, and is also contemplating a separate listing for its restaurant unit to help pay off its debt, according to Bloomberg.

According to the report, Minor would set up the REIT, which would involve the sale of 12 hotels in Europe and two in Thailand, and could raise $1 billion, on the Singapore stock exchange later this year. The company is also exploring a Hong Kong listing of its restaurant unit to raise funds for debt repayment, according to CEO Dillip Rajakarier.

Rajakarier spoke at the company’s annual press day on Friday and said the REIT would be listed on the Singapore stock exchange in the second half of 2026. He also said Minor is also exploring a Hong Kong listing for its restaurant unit, Minor Food PLC, confirming a separate Bloomberg report from last week.

Minor would retain a significant stake in the REIT, though below 50%, allowing it to maintain control while keeping the properties off its balance sheet.

“The objectives are to unlock the value and deleverage,” Rajakarier said. “We will maintain a meaningful stake.”

The objectives are to unlock the value and deleverage. We will maintain a meaningful stake.

Dillip Rajakarier

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The REIT would be a focal point for Minor’s broader deleveraging strategy, as it, like most other large hotel companies, pursues an asset-light model that relies on management contracts and franchise fees.

The company has been cutting debt after its 2018 acquisition of the NH Hotel Group significantly increased liabilities and aims to reduce its debt-to-equity ratio to about 1.4x this year, from 1.8x at the end of 2025.

“We will continue our deleveraging attempt to bring our debt level to a comfortable level,” Rajakarier said during the press conference. “Lower debt will help lift the overhang that has affected our stock price.”

Hong Kong is being considered for its potentially higher valuation and broader investor base, and a final decision on the IPO is expected in the second quarter, with a potential listing later this year.

Minor said during its quarterly earnings call last week that it expects its net profit to grow by as much as 20% annually over the next three years and plans to increase the number of hotels under management to 850 by 2028. Rajakarier said Minor wants to sign about 90 hotel management contracts and franchise agreements in 2026, more than double the 40 signed in 2025, while also opening close to 50 hotels, up from 23 last year.