REITS

Ascendas Real Estate Investment Trust’s (Reit) distribution per unit (DPU) rose by 2.3 per cent to 3.978 Singapore cents for its second quarter to Sept 30 from 3.887 cents a year ago, boosted by overseas acquisitions while taking into account an enlarged number of units in issue. The Reit also called for a trading halt on Friday morning, after it had released its financial results. Gross revenue...

It is likely to be another stable reporting season for Singapore's real estate investment trusts (Reits) with tourist arrivals in July and August giving a boost to retail and hospitality Reits while industrial Reits continue to be pressured by the bleak state of manufacturing activity. Given the cloudy outlook owing to macroeconomic uncertainty and recession fears, analysts have chosen a defensive...

It took a matter of three days for the proposed S$1.2 billion merger between Ascott Residence Trust (ART) and Ascendas Hospitality Trust (A-HTrust) to be approved and unveiled to the public. The merger of the two Reits had been subject to much speculation since January after ART's parent, CapitaLand - one of Asia's largest real estate companies - announced its S$11 billion acquisition of...

Concerns about co-working giant WeWork may amplify the negative impact of a weakening economy on Singapore's commercial real estate investment trusts (Reits), according to Credit Suisse Group. Poor sentiment on the company could further damp demand for co-working spaces amid slowing gross domestic product growth, hurting office Reits, analysts led by Nicholas Teh wrote in a report. "Office Reits have...

Keppel Reit has sold Bugis Junction Towers to Village Prop Pte Ltd for S$547.5 million or S$2,200 per square foot, S$388 million more than the S$159.5 million the property was acquired for in 2006. The Business Times understands the main buyer is a fund managed by Angelo Gordon, a US-headquartered global alternative investment manager. Alongside the fund, Singapore-based property investment manager...

Amid a lower-for-longer interest rate environment, Singapore real estate investment trusts (S-Reits) are ramping up their acquisitions worth billions of dollars, according to market observers. Just this week alone, three S-Reits have announced equity financing to partially fund their acquisitions - Keppel DC Reit raised S$478.2 million to fund its proposed acquisition of two data centres worth about...

A new asset class may soon be added to the Singapore Reit (S-Reit) universe later this year: grocery-anchored malls. They may not seem exciting but property trusts anchored by these bread and butter businesses are seen as safe havens amid the challenges retailers are facing today. Proponents of the asset class, which is a norm in the United States and Britain, tout the resilience of necessity...

Retail landlord SPH Reit has established a S$1 billion multicurrency debt issuance programme, with part of the proceeds to be potentially used for a possible acquisition. The Reit's manager, SPH Reit Management, is currently conducting due diligence on the potential acquisition. "Discussions about the potential acquisition are still preliminary and there can be no assurance that the acquisition will...

DBS Group Research on Monday noted that the government's efforts to rejuvenate the Greater Southern Waterfront (GSW) area offers significant opportunities for developers, with Mapletree Commercial Trust (MCT) standing to gain as VivoCity, which is owned by the trust, is likely to remain the "bedrock of the GSW rejuvenation". Other potential beneficiaries include Frasers Commercial Trust, which owns...

Investors in Singapore's much-loved real estate investment trusts (Reits) may soon have another reason to cheer, as the central bank considers looser debt rules that could spur more acquisitions by property managers. The Monetary Authority of Singapore ended a one-month consultation period on Thursday that looked into increasing the amount of debt that Reits can take on to 50 per cent from 45 per cent...