PLDT’s data center REIT plan seen to attract strong interest

By Ashley Erika O. Jose, Reporter

PLDT INC.’s plan to list its data center business as a real estate investment trust (REIT) is expected to attract strong investor interest, with the Philippine equity market primed for such an offering, analysts said.

“I think PLDT’s data center REIT offering will generate a lot of interest from the local investor community. PLDT has been an established data center operator even before the boom in interest in that sector due to digital transformation and now AI (artificial intelligence), and they have been expanding their capacity,” Colliers Philippines Senior Director and Head of Capital Markets and Investment Services Julius Guevara said in a Viber message on Friday last week.

Last week, Pangilinan-led telecommunications company PLDT Inc. announced that it is pursuing a REIT listing for its data center business, VITRO Inc.

VITRO manages and operates the group’s data center business. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of ePLDT, Inc., the ICT holding company of PLDT Inc.

The move comes after negotiations with potential investors failed to advance because they preferred majority control rather than the minority stake PLDT was willing to sell.

The move also comes as the company plans to raise funds to pay some loans and obligations. PLDT’s net debt rose to P284.7 billion as of end-2025.

For COL Financial Group, Inc. Chief Equity Strategist April Lynn C. Lee-Tan, pursuing a REIT listing for PLDT’s data center business will be favorable, especially with the revised REIT Law.

“I think the market will be receptive given that demand for data centers is growing and is still expected to grow further. Plus investors will get income through cash dividends, which seems to be what’s important right now,” she said in a Viber message.

In January, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued amended rules on REITs as part of its initiatives to help develop and spur investments in the capital market.

The amendments are aligned with the objectives of the REIT Act by expanding eligible income-generating assets and allowing unlisted special purpose vehicles (SPVs) and incorporated joint ventures (JVs), consistent with global practices.

Under SEC Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 1, Series of 2026, REITs may own income-generating real estate directly or indirectly. For indirect ownership, a REIT may hold shares in an unlisted SPV formed primarily to own real estate, provided it owns at least two-thirds of the SPV’s voting stock, including through incorporated JVs.

The Philippine equities market remains largely concentrated in traditional sectors, with limited exposure to high-growth themes, said Peter Louise D. Garnace, an equity research analyst at Unicapital Securities, Inc.

He said a potential initial public offering (IPO) of a data center business will likely serve as a catalyst by further diversifying sector composition beyond traditional real estate and introducing digital infrastructure as a new asset class.

“This would deepen and broaden the Philippine REIT segment, enhance market liquidity, and attract a wider base of institutional and foreign investors seeking exposure to technology-linked, long-duration cash flows,” he said.

Mr. Garnace said the planned REIT listing of PLDT will expand REITs into tech-related infrastructure, which will likely strengthen the country’s investment landscape.

“[It will] position the Philippines more competitively alongside ASEAN peers that are advancing as digital and data center hubs,” he said.

“Definitely, PLDT would have the data center assets that are REITable, as they have been in this business the longest and probably have the largest coverage,” said Investment & Capital Corp. of the Philippines (ICCP) President Jesus Mariano P. Ocampo.

He said PLDT has a strong data center portfolio to sell into a REIT.

For Colliers’ Mr. Guevara, PLDT’s plan is also strategic as it would unlock value for the business while bringing additional value to the local equities market.

“Developing data centers is quite capital intensive, so there are very few opportunities for retail investors to participate in this growth market. By establishing a data center REIT, PLDT can now offer this opportunity to smaller investors,” he said.

Last year, PLDT inaugurated VITRO Sta. Rosa, its 11^th data center. The five-hectare facility in Laguna is described as the country’s largest data center campus, with a capacity of up to 50 megawatts (MW). Across all sites, VITRO has nearly 100 MW of combined capacity.

“As the first tech-heavy REIT locally, the listing is likely to attract huge investor participation, given its novelty and the prevailing worldwide trend of tech-related issues doing well on the global stage,” said Shawn Ray R. Atienza, an equity research analyst at AP Securities, Inc.

China Bank Capital Corp. Managing Director Juan Paolo E. Colet said the market is ready for a data center REIT IPO.

He said there are many strong data center assets in the country, and consumption has also been robust.

“Data center business is a major component of the global infrastructure buildout for the AI revolution… The best listing structure for a local data center portfolio would be a REIT. That has the advantage of offering not just yield but also the potential for total returns growth as the data center portfolio expands,” he said.

The timing of the plan will also be a very important factor in the success of the planned REIT listing, he said, adding that overall equity market sentiment has improved and interest rates are projected to move lower.

“Those are favorable factors for a REIT IPO. To optimize valuations, however, I think we also need an industry-specific catalyst to create a more compelling data center IPO story. One such catalyst could be a definitive and comprehensive policy or regulation mandating data residency or data localization,” Mr. Colet said.

Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of the PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., holds a majority stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls.