With access to properties and relatively good yields, Singapore investors enjoy investing in REITs. Given that the low-interest-rate environment is here to stay, REITs continue to be able to refinance their debt at attractive levels. The one thing REIT investors need to be watchful about is how COVID-19 will change the way we live, work and play – as these will affect the various property types differently and also in different geographic regions. Even one year after COVID-19 was first reported, hospitality REITs continue to be impacted. Meanwhile, logistics, data centre and healthcare REITs are more relevant than ever. Read Also: [2020 Edition] Complete Guide To Start Your REITs Investing Journey In Singapore How Singapore REITs Performed In 1st Quarter 2021 To get a broad overview of h

Keppel Pacific Oak US REIT (KORE) still spots a pretty attractive dividend. They just announced their first quarter 2021 update and this update provides us a glimpse of their projected income available for distribution. If we annualized the dividend per unit of 6.26 cents, KORE currently trades at an attractive 8.5% dividend yield (You can review how this 8.5% measure up against other high yielding dividend stocks in Singapore). KORE operates in an area that is pretty far from Singapore and investors might discount its share price due to their unfamiliarity with the region and it can be challenging not having the boots on the ground effect. The future of office is a hot topic among investors. Every one is trying to size-up how technology and work-from-home will change off

2020 was a precarious year for property owners. Globally, travel has grinded to a halt, impacting hospitality properties. Even Retail, office and industrial properties have been affected to varying degrees, given the strict COVID-19 management measures. 2020 also feels like the harbinger of the new normal – accelerating trends to an extreme level. We already knew work-from-home was on the rise, online shopping growth was outpacing sales in brick-and-mortar stores, food delivery services were taking over F&B outlets and more. For REIT owners, distribution income was affected due to various countries implementing some form of cost sharing initiatives as shutdowns and “circuit breakers” we enforced. More than that, REIT investors also have to consider the longer term impacts of COVI

Basic Profile & Key StatisticsKeppel Pacific Oak US REIT (KORE) was listed on 9 Nov 2017. It was previously known as Keppel-KBS US REIT and subsequently renamed on 5 Sep 2019. KORE is a pure office REIT with properties in US and is traded in USD.Lease ProfileOccupancy is healthy at 94.3%. WALE is moderate at 4.1 years. From the latest presentation, 41.5% of the lease by rental income will be expiring in 2025 and beyond without breakdown, if we consider before 2025, then the highest lease expiry of 17.2% falls in the year 2023. All of its properties are freehold. Debt ProfileGearing ratio is slightly high at 37.4%. Cost of debt is high at 3.3%. Fixed debt rate is slightly high at 84.3% while 100% of debt is unsecured. Interest cover is high 4.4 times. WADE is short at 2.5 year