This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) website at 4:06 p.m. on Aug. 18, 2026.
Incheon Housing & City Development Corporation (iH) will move to sell equity in a real estate fund backed by the underlying asset "The Sharp Bupyeong Central City." It will cash out the asset invested in the public-supported private rental housing project in 2017 ahead of the fund's liquidation in 2030. The move is seen as an attempt to recover existing investment assets and secure financial flexibility, as it has recently been investing one after another in public housing development projects using REITs.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 18th, iH recently sent a request for proposal (RFP) for securitizing equity in a public-supported private rental fund to financial institutions and began selecting a sell-side lead manager. The sale target is 61 million units of class-3 equity securities of "Aegis No. 151 Professional Investor Private Real Estate Investment LLC" (Aegis No. 151) held by iH. In 2017, as it pursued the Sipjeong District 2 public-supported private rental project, iH invested 61 billion won in Aegis No. 151.
Aegis No. 151 is a real estate fund that owns 3,578 units of public-supported private rental housing at "The Sharp Bupyeong Central City" in Sipjeong-dong, Bupyeong-gu, Incheon. The Sharp Bupyeong Central City, totaling 5,678 units, was completed in 2022. IGIS Asset Management has also invested in this fund. Through the listed REIT IGIS Residence REIT(350520), it holds 63 million units of class-1 equity securities and 13 million units of class-3 equity securities. As of the end of March this year, the combined book value of the two equities was about 191.2 billion won.
The background to iH's move to recover investment assets appears to be both financial burdens and demand for investment in new projects. iH is currently investing in the Jemulpo Station north-side urban public housing complex project, the Gulpocheon Station south-side development project, and the Geomdan public-supported private rental REIT, among others.
What stands out in this transaction is the asset securitization method. iH asked the lead manager to propose a securitization plan that includes a price return swap (PRS). A PRS is a structure in which, instead of directly selling equity, a contract is signed with a financial institution to transfer gains and losses based on changes in the value of the equity, thereby raising funds.
In particular, in securitization structures such as PRS, because financial institutions provide the funds, whether principal can be recovered at maturity is critical. Accordingly, iH also asked for proposals on credit support measures such as a refinancing commitment, under which the lead manager would use its own resources to repay existing borrowings if refinancing fails, or a firm commitment underwriting in which the lead manager purchases the entire amount.
The sale size is expected to be finalized based on future valuation results. As of the end of December this year, iH plans to appraise the real estate held by Aegis No. 151 and, based on that, assess the value of the equity to be securitized. The industry views the value of the equity for sale at around 300 billion won.