Chinese property tycoon Tong Jinquan agreed to buy more than half of the stock in Viva Industrial Trust’s S$375 million ($301 million) initial public offering in Singapore, said two people with knowledge of the matter.

The chairman of Shanghai Summit Property Development Ltd. will purchase S$200 million of shares in Viva Industrial as a cornerstone investor, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the details are private.

Tong, with a net worth of $2.3 billion according to the Hurun Research Institute, was an investor in Perennial China Retail Trust’s IPO in May 2011. He sold his stake almost a year later to investors including Wilmar International Ltd. co-founders Kuok Khoon Hong and Martua Sitorus for an undisclosed price.

Cornerstone investors receive guaranteed allocation of shares in IPOs. By the time Tong, 58, sold his Perennial China holding, the shares had fallen almost 30 percent from their IPO price of 70 Singapore cents. The trust closed at 53.50 cents in Singapore trading today.

REITs and business trusts were the biggest fundraisers in Singapore’s IPO market in the past year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The FTSE Strait Times Real Estate Investment Trust Index, comprising 32 trusts, has declined 6.5 percent this year after gaining 37 percent in 2012.

China’s Riches

A person who answered the phone at Shanghai Summit’s office said Tong was traveling and couldn’t immediately be reached. Wilson Ang, chief executive officer of Viva Industrial’s management company, declined to comment.

Perennial China bought a 50 percent stake in Chengdu Longemont Shopping Mall Development from Tong and his companies for 2.28 billion yuan ($376 million) in 2011.

Tong’s ranking among China’s richest people fell to 72nd this year from No. 22 the year before, when he was worth $3.5 billion, according to Hurun. Shanghai Summit is closely held.

Viva Industrial plans to offer a 2014 dividend yield of about 8.8 percent in its IPO, people with knowledge of the matter said last month. The trust will be backed by three industrial properties in Singapore, they said. Viva Industrial will start taking orders for shares from other investors next week, according to the people.

Viva Industrial Trust filed its preliminary prospectus with the Monetary Authority of Singapore today, according to an e-mailed statement from Ark Advisors Pte, a Singapore-based communication consulting firm, on behalf of the company.

Standard Chartered Plc, Bank of America Corp. and HSBC Holdings Plc are arranging the share sale.