Against the backdrop of a rising interest rate environment, REITs seem to be one of the obvious losers. This is because REITs are asset-heavy investments that require high levels of leverage, borrowing substantial amounts of money to purchase properties that they subsequently rent out. Read Also: Increasing Interest Rates In 2018: Here Are 4 Ways Singaporeans Will Be Affected In Singapore, there are currently 39 listed REITs and a further nine business trusts (of which six are property related). On average, they have a debt to asset ratio of just under 35%. With rising interest rates, REITs will have to fork out more in interest payment, potentially reducing the distributions they can pay to investors. How REITs Have Performed In YTD 2018 To gauge the performance of REITs in 2018, we can l

Mapletree North Asia Commercial Trust (SGX: RW0U) or MNACT reported an increase in its distribution per unit (DPU) on Friday. The positive result was driven by higher rental rates from its properties and maiden contributions from its newly acquired properties. The real estate investment trust’s (REIT) latest earnings release was for the second-quarter of fiscal year ending on 31 March 2019 (FY18/19). As a brief background, MNACT is a Singapore-based commercial REIT with nine properties in China, Hong Kong, and Japan with a book value of S$7.2 billion. Let’s take a quick look at the results for its latest reporting quarter: Gross revenue increased by 18.7% year-on-year to S$104.6 million while net property income rose by 18% to S$83.64 million. The steep increase in revenue and n

Most investors in the market are familiar with the name Mapletree. After all, it is the sponsor of four different REITs that are listed on SGX with strong firepower. In the past 12 months, the Mapletree Group of REITs have been one of the more active S-REITs with acquisitions worth $3.1 billion made in Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Japan and the US. We dive into the Mapletree brand to see what makes its REITs so unique in the S-REIT space. Investors Takeaway: Dissecting The Mapletree Brand REITs Mapletree Logistics Trust Mapletree Logistics Trust has been on an acquisition spree. It added $1.8 billion worth of new assets over the past 12 months. Moving forward, there are still plenty of inorganic growth opportunities for Mapletree Logistics Trust in China, Hong Kong, Japan and Australia.

According to DBS, statistically, October has a higher tendency to be positive whenever the STI declines in the months of August and September. So far, the current valuation of Singapore’s market is also very reasonable with the STI hovering around 3200 region. As such, there should be adequate cushion against the possibility of earnings cuts in the upcoming results season. To ride out the month of October, DBS recommends three investment strategies. Investors Takeaway: 3 Investment Strategies To Ride On October’s Momentum Palm Oil Stocks Enter Seasonal ‘Sweet Spot’ Historically, the price of crude palm oil (CPO) tend to peak in the month of March. It then bottoms out before mid-October followed by 2-3 months of price recovery. The October-December seasonal rise coincides with

One of the exercises in the recent workshop I ran was a simulation exercise to close off Day 1.Workshop participants are invited to form groups to imagine leaving Singapore for greener pastures. As part of the exercise, each group of students will elect a target country. Students will then try to dig out economic data on the target country, make broad estimates on how much it would cost to live in that country and estimate how large a Singapore portfolio should be to generate passive income required to retire there. They will subjectively assess which part of the market cycle the country is in and then they will do some research on what kind of instruments in SGX will allow some proxy bets on that economy. Finally, they will also have to defend an asset allocation in the target economy sho

As the earnings visibility for FY19 fades, CIMB thinks that investors should temper expectations. One recommended strategy is to load up some stocks with earnings certainty or which trade at deep discounts. In addition to a risk-off environment given the volatile macro outlook amid US-China trade tensions, CIMB thinks investors should also start preparing by tactically rotating into these yield stocks. Investors Takeaway: 5 Stocks To Rotate Into In This Risk-Off Environment Ascendas REIT With positive rental reversions of 10.5 percent in 1Q19 and contributions from new acquisitions and redevelopment activities, Ascendas REIT’s (AREIT) operating metrics have been improving. Meanwhile, AREIT has ventured into the UK with the purchase of 12 logistics properties and management has guided to

In the current risk-off environment, we continue to highlight four defensive yield plays that safe haven seekers should invest in. Investors Takeaway: Seek Safe Haven With These 4 Defensive Dividend Plays Mapletree North Asia Commercial Trust With the addition of the Japanese assets to its portfolio in 1Q19, OCBC believes that Mapletree North Asia Commercial Trust has built a better portfolio mix. OCBC thinks that Japanese properties complement its other assets, given its longer weighted average lease expiry and lower borrowing costs in Japan on moderate growth prospects. This provides increased stability to Mapletree North Asia Commercial Trust’s unitholders. Post-acquisition, distribution per unit for Mapletree North Asia Commercial Trust grew at a smaller magnitude of 1.6 percent

Following our article on 5 REITs becoming appealing again, we turn our focus to other S-REITs that are poised to benefit from their overseas play. Investors Takeaway: 4 Overseas REITs That Investors Should Focus On CapitaLand Retail China Trust Following the divestment of CapitaMall Anzhen, CapitaLand Retail China Trust has replaced it with a much younger asset – Rock Square – in the first-tier city of Guangzhou. Although the initial yield is lower, DBS believes that the asset has greater growth potential. It is also an indication of CapitaLand Retail China Trust embarking on a growth path as it shifts its focus from stability from master leases to growth generated from more actively managed assets. Now that CapitaLand Retail China Trust has a recapitalised balance sheet, the time i

1. SPH Reit  --  10th Jul 20182. SPH  --  11th Jul 20183. Kep Reit  --  16th Jul 20184. Soilbuild REIT  --  16th Jul 20185. Kep DC Reit  --  17th Jul 20186. Kep Infra Trust  --  17th Jul 20187. Kep-KBS US Reit  --  17th Jul 20188. First Reit  --  17th Jul 20189. Kep T&T  --  18th Jul 201810. Capitaland Comm Trust  --  19th Jul 201811. Kep Corp  --  19th Jul 201812. SATS  --  19th Jul 201813. SIA Engg  --  19th Jul 201814. CapitaMall Trust  --  20th Jul 201815. Semb Mar  --  20th Jul 201816. Mapletreelog Trust  --  23rd Jul 201817. MapletreeInd Trust  --  24th Jul 201818. Ascott REIT  --  24th Jul 201819. Fras

First published in Business Times on 1 August, 2018 By Mak Yuen Teen and Chew Yi Hong Last year, we launched the Governance Index for Trusts (GIFT), the first-ever published governance index in Singapore that is specifically developed for listed real estate investment trusts (Reits) and business trusts (BTs) in Singapore. GIFT assesses both governance and business risk factors. We assessed 43 trusts. This year, we covered 44 trusts, comprising six that are constituted as stapled securities (SS), nine pure business trusts and 33 Reits. We excluded four newly-listed trusts that have not yet published an annual report at the cut-off date. Some changes were made to the index, including the addition of a small number of new demerit criteria, and replacing volatility of returns with a criterion

SINGAPORE, 31 July 2018 – Keppel DC REIT has retained the top ranking for the second edition of the governance ranking specifically designed for Singapore-listed real estate investment trusts (REIT) and business trusts (BT), joined at the top by CapitaLand Commercial Trust which has moved up from number 8 in last year’s ranking. Two other trusts made significant gains to enter the top 5, with Mapletree Commercial Trust moving from 15 to 4 to joint third position with Mapletree Greater China Commercial Trust (since renamed to Mapletree North Asia Commercial Trust), which made the biggest leap from number 26. Just half a point separated the top 4 trusts, making this GIFT ranking very competitive. Meanwhile, Frasers Logistics & Industrial Trust, which is ranked for the first time,