DoubleDragon Corp. is setting up a S$300-million hospitality real estate investment trust (REIT) in Singapore, giving the property developer a new funding platform to support the global expansion of its Hotel101 brand.

In a disclosure on Friday, the company said its board approved the creation of DD Hotel101 Worldwide One, a Singapore special purpose vehicle that will be sponsored as a hospitality REIT on the Singapore Exchange (SGX).

Once listed, it is expected to become the fourth pure hospitality REIT on the bourse.

The REIT will hold a portfolio of Hotel101 units carved out from selected projects in various countries, which will create a permanent capital recycling platform that complements the sale of individual Hotel101 units.

"This strategic initiative will create a deep and entirely new revenue stream and will also become one of the major attractions to established developers in other countries as Hotel101 Global prepares to transition towards its Phase 3 of expansion via the pure proptech asset-light licensing platform," the company said.

The initial S$300-million asset size was designed to qualify for an exemption from SGX’s requirement for three years of operating history.

The company said additional Hotel101 units from projects worldwide may later be infused into the REIT to expand its asset base.

Over the longer term, DoubleDragon intends to allocate around 20 percent to 30 percent of selected Hotel101 projects globally into listed Hotel101 REITs across major stock exchanges.

Hotel101 has been expanding overseas, with Hotel101-Madrid opening in March and Hotel101-Niseko in Japan scheduled to begin operations in December. DoubleDragon expects to open 2,229 additional hotel rooms this year across Spain, Davao, Cebu and Japan.