Philippines telco PLDT has filed to form and float a data center Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT).

The company this week announced that Vitro Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of PLDT's IT subsidiary ePLDT, Inc., has submitted a registration statement and REIT plan with the Securities and Exchange Commission of the Philippines for a proposed initial public offering (IPO).

PLDT said the IPO will mark the first digital infrastructure REIT in the Philippines.

REITs are companies that own, and often operate, income-producing real estate such as data centers. They act as a fund for investors, generating revenue via leasing space and collecting rent on their properties. Data center REITs are investment trusts where all or the majority of the trust's revenues come from leasing data centers.

Vitro Inc. is in the process of changing its corporate name to Vitro REIT, Inc., subject to SEC approval.

The REIT’s portfolio will total 24MW of capacity across its Tier II and III quality data centers, located across the Philippines. On its website, Vitro REIT lists eight facilities.

PLDT is hoping to raise ₱24.2 billion ($396m) in the IPO, selling around 49 percent of Vitro’s shares.

“Today’s filing marks an important step in our efforts to unlock value from PLDT Group’s digital infrastructure portfolio while supporting the continued expansion of Vitro REIT’s data center platform,” said Victor S. Genuino, president and CEO of ePLDT and Vitro REIT. “As demand for secure, resilient, and scalable digital infrastructure continues to grow, the proposed Vitro REIT IPO creates an opportunity for investors to participate in the growth of one of the country’s most critical digital infrastructure sectors.”

The telco first confirmed that it was exploring the potential to form a data center REIT earlier this month.

PLDT is the Philippines’ largest fully integrated telco company and is listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange. Vitro was established as the data center subsidiary of ePLDT in 2000, which in turn is the ICT subsidiary of PLDT.

The company has ten operational data centers with a combined IT capacity of 63MW, with cable landing stations in Deat, Digos, La Union, and Batangas.

It recently launched a 50MW hyperscale facility, known as Santa Rosa, outside Manila. Elsewhere, PLDT has plans for a 100MW facility in General Trias, a city south of Manila.

PLDT had been looking for a minority investor for its data centers for some time. The likes of CVC Capital Partners, Japanese telco NTT, and others had been named as potential suitors before those plans were dropped last year.

While many of the major data center firms operate as REITs themselves, many also have spun off publicly listed REITs that own stakes in their stabilized assets.

Digital Realty, GDS, and NTT have previously done this, and Blackstone-owned AirTrunk is reportedly pursuing a similar move. Blackstone is also setting up its own data center REIT.