Last year, Singapore welcomed four new REIT listings: ARA US Hospitality Trust, Eagle Hospitality, LendLease Global Commercial REIT, and Prime US REIT. Among them, Eagle Hospitality probably got the most attention, albeit for the wrong reasons. Eagle Hospitality’s largest asset is The Queen Mary, a luxury cruise ship which was converted into a hotel and permanently parked at Long Beach, California. The Edge Singapore pointed out that the retired cruise ship might sink into disrepair due to poor maintenance. Even if the repairs are carried out, it would cost a bomb and the amount would balloon to as high as twice the amount of its asset value. Upon news of this, the unit price of Eagle Hospitality quickly tanked from 66 cents to as low as 42 cents in less than a couple of weeks. Anyo

Two of the oldest REITs listed on SGX have announced a merger on 22 January 2020. CapitaLand Commercial Trust(SGX: C61U), or CCT, and CapitaLand Mall Trust (SGX: C38U), or CMT, announced that they would merge by way of a trust scheme arrangement. Both REITs are managed by real estate giant CapitaLand Limited (SGX: C31). This news is hardly surprising considering that it comes hot off the heels of another recently-announced REIT merger — that of Frasers Logistics & Industrial Trust (SGX: BUOU), or FLT, and Frasers Commercial Trust (SGX: ND8U), or FCOT. This December 2019 announcement continues the trend of REIT mergers within Singapore as the prevailing belief continues to be “bigger is better”.   Transaction Summary CMT will acquire all the issued and paid-up uni

More merging within Singapore REIT sector. This time is joint forces of 2 Capitaland Giant REITs, Capitaland Mall Trust (SGX: C38U / CMT) and Capitaland Commercial Trust (SGX: C61U / CCT), forming Singapore Largest Reit, also the third largest in Asia Pacific. CCT shares will be converted into CMT. Both CMT and CCT are better than parent company, Capitaland, in the perspective of stock investment. CMT (which owns about 70% shopping malls in Singapore) is relatively stronger and more defensive than CCT, less susceptible to economic cycle. A giant is not defined by the size. An investor may not need to buy the biggest REIT (eg. American Tower, NYSE: AMT – largest REIT in the world, or LinkReit, HKEx: 0823 – largest REIT in Asia), but it has to be the strongest REI

On 22 January 2020, CapitaLand Mall Trust (CMT) and CapitaLand Commercial Trust (CCT) announced a proposed merger by way of a trust scheme arrangement. The news should not come as a big surprise to many as there had already been three REIT mergers in Singapore in 2019 alone, and CMT-CCT’s announced merger looks set to become the fourth. Both CMT and CCT can be considered behemoths in their own right. The former owns 15 quality shopping malls in Singapore located in strategic suburban and downtown areas, with a total property value of S$11.8 billion and a market capitalisation of S$9.55 billion. The latter is Singapore’s first listed commercial REIT with a total of 10 properties (eight in Singapore and two in Germany), with a total property value of S$11.1 billion and market

There are total of 40 Singapore REITs, a popular investment option for retirement through passive income. By law, 90% of disposable income from Singapore REITs must be redistributed back to shareholders through dividends.  However, not all the Singapore REITs are profitable, an investor could lose money if choosing the wrong one, eg. pursuing the highest yield REIT.  REIT is an integrated investment between stock market and property market, knowledge of both markets are required to be successful. In general, a good REIT should have strong fundamentals and DPU (Distribution per Unit) should grow over the time.  At the same time, we could also profit from good REITs through capital appreciation of share price and net asset value of properties.  A good REIT investor

The weekly 4 Stocks This Week column on DollarsAndSense was started in 2017 with a simple objective was simple: to provide a convenient read each week for busy investors to stay updated with what is happening on the Singapore Exchange. 4 Stock This Week is not a recommendation from us to buy or sell any of the stocks that wke feature. Its purpose is to highlight interesting stocks that investors should be aware of, rather than to analyse these stocks. For this week’s edition, instead of the usual coverage of four stocks, we’ll do a year in review of the other 51 instalments of 4 Stocks This Week that our team has written in 2019. Over the past year (51 weeks), we’ve covered 123 SGX-listed stocks, 4 ETFs and 8 Daily Leverage Certificates. The most covered stock was Sas

REITs are a popular and important part of the Singapore Exchange (SGX). There are close to 50 listed REITs, property-related business trust and REIT ETFs in Singapore. There are also numerous other unit trusts invested into Singapore and foreign listed REITs in Singapore. To get a better understanding of how well or badly Singapore REITs have performed, we dedicate significant time and resources to publish a report card each quarter. If you wish to catch up on previous quarters, you can refer to our regular REITs Report Card column. Read Also: Complete Guide To Investing In Singapore REITs How Has Singapore REITs Performed In The Year-To-Date 2019 To gauge how the Singapore REIT market has performed in the year-to-date (YTD) 2019, we can look at the iEdge S-REIT Index and the iEdge S-REIT

Today, we are going to share with you how to invest your CPF investment money in a no-brainer way. The best part? You need not be financial savvy to do this. A beginner can do it! And I’ll reveal the exact step-by-step process, which you can follow easily. What is CPF Investment Scheme (CPFIS)? It is to provide option to CPF members to invest their CPF savings in your Ordinary Account (OA) and Special Account (SA) in various instruments such as insurance products, unit trusts, fixed deposits, bonds and shares in Singapore. The Average CPF Interest Rate is 2.5% to 4% for Ordinary Account. Check their latest CPF interest rate here. Below is the latest CPF rate (1st Oct to 31st Dec 2019).   Share this Infographic On Your Site </p><br /><br /><br /><br /&

For investors who are nearing retirement or looking to retire soon, one key characteristic they should look for in REITs is income stability. This means the REIT should have a track record of paying out a dependable and predictable distribution per unit (DPU) so as to provide investors with peace of mind and a good night’s sleep. The problem is that not every REIT makes a great investment, and investors need to be discerning when it comes to choosing a REIT they can hold on to for the long term. One factor to consider is the presence of a strong sponsor, as this can lower borrowing costs for the REIT and also provide it with a ready pipeline of properties for acquisition. You should also observe the track record of asset under management (AUM) growth and the stability of DPU over th

CapitaLand is synonymous with real estate in Singapore. As one of Asia’s largest diversified real estate group, most Singaporeans would already know of, and have interacted with the brand. Outside of Singapore, the group also holds large portfolio spanning across multiple countries in Asia and outside of Asia. Investing in CapitaLand may not always be as straightforward as it seems. That’s because the group has a total of eight stocks which are listed on the Singapore Exchange. Each of these stocks offer a different investment proposition to investors, though the common similarity (besides being part of the CapitaLand group) is that the stocks are all involved primarily in real estate. As observed by SGX Market Strategist Geoff Howie, the eight stocks account for close to 12% of the d

Frasers Centrepoint Trust (SGX: J69U), or FCT, is a REIT with property portfolio comprising of suburban retail properties in Singapore. Recently, I came across FCT’s latest investor presentation and found it to be highly informative. In particular, there are two simple charts that will be useful to demonstrate why FCT is a solid REIT. Financial track record Source: FCT’s Investor Presentation There are a few interesting things to note here. To start with, FCT grew its revenue and net property income (NPI) in almost every single year, with the exception of 2016 and 2017 (mainly due to asset enhancement in Northpoint City North Wing). In the last decade, NPI has grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.3%. Such a growth rate is quite impressive for a REIT, e

The addition of Mapletree Commercial Trust (SGX: N2IU), or MCT, to Singapore’s Straits Times Index (SGX: ^STI) – set to take place in late September – was officially announced earlier this week. Surprisingly, given the dominance of REITs in the Singapore stock market, it will only be the fourth REIT to form part of the benchmark index and will replace the champion of shareholder value destruction; Hutchison Port Holdings Trust (SGX: NS8U). The other three REITs; Ascendas Real Estate Investment Trust (SGX: A17U), CapitaLand Commercial Trust (SGX: C61U) and CapitaLand Mall Trust (SGX: C38U) are all giants in their own right. Yet, it’s MCT that has outpaced them, not only in 2019 but also over the longer term. Looking at MCT’s five-year returns below ver

Frasers Centrepoint Trust (SGX: J69U), or FCT, is a real estate investment trust (REIT) with a portfolio comprising of the following suburban retail properties in Singapore: Causeway Point, Northpoint City North Wing (including Yishun 10 Retail Podium), Anchorpoint, YewTee Point, Bedok Point, Changi City Point, and Waterway Point (one-third interest). It also holds a 31.15% stake in Hektar Real Estate Investment Trust (KLSE: 5121), a retail-focused REIT in Malaysia. There are two things to know about the REIT right now: its latest financial performance and valuation. Financial performance Here is a table showing important items from FCT’s financial performance for the third quarter of financial year ending 30 September 2019 (FY19). Source: FCT Result Presentation Overall, we c

Since I bought Frasers Logistics and Industrial Trust (SGX: BUOU) last year at an average price of S$1.05, its units have climbed around 15%. Despite the run-up in price, I still believe it remains an attractive investment. With that in mind, here are three reasons why I intend to hold on to this industrial-focused real estate investment trust (REIT) for now. Favourable leases Frasers Logistics and Industrial Trust, which is backed by property giant Frasers Property Ltd (SGX: TQ5), boasts a solid portfolio of properties with favourable leases. As of 30 June 2019, it had 59 Australian properties and 22 European properties.  The properties in Australia have a weighted average lease expiry of six years and negotiated annual rental increment of 3.1%. 92% of its European properties a

While most investors invest in REITs to obtain a steady stream of dividend income, the fact is that REITs also grow over time, either through organic means (through asset enhancement initiatives or renovations) or through mergers and acquisitions. Acquisitions are a favoured method because it will instantly provide a boost to both asset size (and value) and usually also comes with an increase in distribution per unit (DPU). Investors need to be discerning though – not all acquisitions are beneficial for the REIT. Some assets may be sub-par, and even for quality assets, REITs may also end up over-paying for them, resulting in value destruction for existing unitholders. Investors should carefully size up the facts and figures relating to each acquisition to assess if it boosts the ove

As one of the most popular investments in Singapore, we keep a close eye on the performance of S-REITs. After the corporate earnings announcements each quarter, we compile a comprehensive summary on our REITs Report Card column. How Singapore REITs Share Prices Have Fared In 2019, So Far Before we look at how individual REIT prices have moved, let’s look at the broad S-REIT indices in Singapore. There are two main indices – the iEdge S-REIT Index and the iEdge S-REIT 20 Index. The iEdge S-REIT Index comprises all the REITs listed in Singapore, while the iEdge S-REIT 20 Index, as its name suggests, only comprise the 20 largest and more tradeable REITs on the iEdge S-REIT Index. Read Also: Complete Guide To Investing In Singapore REITs The chart below depicts the iEdge S-REIT Index fluc

Frasers Centrepoint Trust (SGX: J69U) and CapitaLand Mall Trust (SGX: C38U) are both real estate investment trusts (REITs) that own a portfolio of shopping malls in Singapore. Over the last five years, CapitaLand Mall Trust has seen its share price rise 31.5%, while Frasers Centrepoint Trust’s shares have clocked a gain of 37.2%. Both companies have given long-term investors plenty to smile about when we consider that each of them have paid out consistent dividends throughout the years. Coupled with the fact that the SPDR Straits Times Index ETF, a low-cost exchange-traded fund that tracks Singapore’s stock market barometer, the Straits Times Index, delivered a cumulative gain of just 15.4% over the same period. But which retail mall makes the better investment over the next f

Investors choose to invest in real estate investment trusts (REITs) mainly for income, as REITs are investment vehicles that own income-generating properties. These properties provide steady, consistent and recurring rental income for the REIT, and regulations stipulate that 90% of a REIT’s earnings have to be paid out as distributions to unitholders. While the stability of a REIT’s distribution is a key attraction for investors, an added bonus will be REITs that are able to deliver consistent increases in their distribution per unit (DPU) over the long-term. Such REITs engage in a variety of methods to grow both their asset bases and their DPU. Such methods include organic growth initiatives such as asset enhancement initiatives and positive rental reversions, as well as acqu