Today, 15th July 2016, SMRT announced the proposal of sale of its asset to Land Transport Authority (LTA). New rail financing framework has been in talks for years since many years back where there was an island wide outage of the SMRT rail system. The new rail financing framework was first implemented in 2011 for the Downtown Line (DTL) MRT System.
Asset Light Business Model
After the sale of the assets, SMRT will operate under an asset light model where they will focus on being a train operator providing quality service to commuters and maintaining the trains to ensure smooth operations.
15 Years Operating License
Under the new license, SMRT will operate for 15 years starting 1st October 2016.
Value of Asset
Currently, SMRT owns North-South, East-West, Circle Line and Bukit Panjang Light Rail Transit. The asset is worth Net Book Value of S$991 million (S$1,060 million including GST) as at 30 September 2016. Land Transport Authority (LTA) will pay the amount over 3 years.
Impact to Investors
As of 30th September 2016, SMRT has a debt of S$762 million. The proceeds from the sale will be used to repay the debt. S$159 million will be paid to IRAS as tax.
No special dividends will be paid for investors!
On the speculative side, I am expecting SMRT share price to soar when market opens tomorrow!