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

Investors often get caught up searching for investments that provide a high dividend yield. In reality, the distribution yield is only good for the here and now. If you wish for high returns over a longer time frame, it is more important to find investments that can deliver consistent, or even growing distributions each year. With that in mind, here are two real estate investment trusts (REITs) that have increased their distributions this quarter, and I believe are well placed for growth in the coming years. Ascendas India Trust (SGX:CY6U) Ascendas India Trust has had a spotty past with volatile DPU track record. However, that could all change in the future. In its recent quarter, the trust delivered good growth as new acquisitions, higher rental income, and contributions from new develop

Ascendas India Trust (SGX: CY6U) is the first trust listed in Singapore that focuses on investing in real estate in India. As of 30 June 2018, it owns a portfolio of seven IT parks and six warehouses in prominent cities in India such as Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore. A recent report by Singapore Exchange Limited (SGX: S68) also showed that Ascendas India Trust was the second best performing REIT so far this quarter, with a return of 9.9% from 29 June to 7 September. With that in mind, here are two factors to consider when investing in Ascendas India Trust Potential earnings catalysts Ascendas India Trust has been aggressive in its bid to grow the trust through acquisitions and development of its existing space. In May this year, Ascendas India Trust agreed to purchase two buildings in Mum

On Wednesday, Apple unveiled the iPhone XS, XR and the Apple Watch Series 4. In the same week, Apple Singapore listed new job postings for retail staff for a location in the East, fuelling speculation that Apple is opening its second official store, after Apple Orchard Road, its first in Southeast Asia, opened to much fanfare in May 2017. If this is true, the move will increase Apple’s demand for physical retail space. This runs counter to many brick-and-mortar retailers in Singapore, who are increasingly looking to expanding their online presence for growth. For example, DIY chain Home-Fix has reduced its number of physical stores in Singapore from 26 to 16 since 2016, but actively bolstered the company’s online presence. Retail landlords are also feeling the sting from a cooling comm

Yesterday, the Singapore Exchange released a report highlighting stocks that have market capitalisation of more than S$1 billion and a return on equity (ROE) of above 10%. The ROE figure reveals how efficient a company’s management is in turning every dollar of shareholders’ capital into profits. ROE can also be artificially inflated by taking on more debt. Therefore, investors who come across companies with high ROEs should not take the figure at face value. Of the 32 companies shown in the report, I ranked the companies according to their dividend yields, and they are shown below. The market capitalisation-weighted average dividend yield and ROE of the 32 companies are 3.8% and 14.1% respectively. All figures are as of 17 August 2018. Best of the lot Taking the top three spots are t