business

Big investors target Japan’s logistics properties

Some of the world’s biggest institutional investors, including Singapore’s Global Logistic Properties (GLP), are snapping up more and more Japanese real estate. The reason? Not Abenomics but the massive shortage of modern warehouse facilities that has resulted in very low vacancy rates. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s pro-growth strategies have been lauded by some market observers as the impetus...

Moody’s says outlook for S-REITs stable

Moody's Investors Service says the outlook is stable for Singapore's Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) sector in the year ahead. Based on a report released on Monday, the ratings agency says a larger asset base and rent increases on existing properties are expected to fuel growth for the 13 REITs it rated. It forecasts that the earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization...

S-REITS remain attractive investments despite gloomy outlook

Prices of Singapore Real Estate Investment Trusts, or S-REITs, have declined some 20 per cent year to-date from its peak in May as fears over rising interest rates dampened investor interest in this sector. However, some analysts say interest in the sector will return once S-REITS prove that they can mitigate rate risks. S-REITs have taken a hit since the US Federal Reserve hinted that it may start...

Billionaire Peter Woo passes Wheelock baton to son

Wheelock & Co, a Hong Kong-based real estate developer and parent of the city’s Wharf Holdings and Singapore’s Wheelock Properties, yesterday said its billionaire Chairman Peter Woo, 67, will step down and his son will take over the role. Mr Douglas Woo, who was appointed as Managing Director effective July 1, will start as Chairman on Jan 1, according to a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Mr...

REITS paid out S$2.9b in dividends over last 12 months

Singapore-listed real estate investment trusts (REITs) have paid out a whopping S$2.9 billion in total dividends over the last 12 months, according to the latest data from Singapore Exchange's investor education portal SGX My Gateway. Although REIT prices have taken a bit of a knock recently, analysts say they remain upbeat on the long-term investment prospects of SGX-listed REITs. In the last 12...

CapitaLand S’pore home sales grow 6-fold despite curbs

While property cooling measures and the total debt-servicing ratio (TDSR) framework have dented demand for private housing, CapitaLand’s sales in Singapore do not seem to have been affected. CapitaLand, the largest-listed developer in South-east Asia, sold over six times more units in the traditionally quiet third quarter compared with a year ago, its earnings report showed yesterday. The company sold...

OUE’s planned commercial REIT to include Lippo Plaza

Singapore-listed hotel and property group Overseas Union Enterprise (OUE) plans to include Shanghai's Lippo Plaza in the initial portfolio of its proposed OUE Commercial Trust. In a stock exchange filing late Wednesday night, the company says OUE Commercial Trust will buy the 36-storey Lippo Plaza in Shanghai from Hong Kong-listed Lippo China Resources. Earlier, OUE has said that its commercial REIT...

Businesses feeling impact of property slowdown

With a slowing property market in Singapore, sectors linked to property sales are starting to feel the impact on their businesses. It is not all gloomy for these property-downstream companies. Some firms are still finding good opportunities in the private residential property market. A slew of cooling measures and loan curbs have slowed down property sales transactions in the third quarter this...

Viva Industrial Trust to raise S$365 million in IPO

Viva Industrial Trust, a Singapore business and real estate trust, said on Monday it would be raising S$365 million through an initial share sale to Chinese property tycoon Tong Jinquan and the public, Bloomberg News reported. Mr Tong, the chairman of Shanghai Summit Property Development, will purchase S$200 million of shares in the initial public offering as a cornerstone investor, the trust said in...

Viva Industrial Trust said to offer 8.8% yield for S’pore IPO

Viva Industrial Trust plans to offer a 2014 dividend yield of about 8.8 per cent in an initial public offering that will raise as much as S$375 million in Singapore, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The trust, which will be backed by three industrial properties, kicked off its pre-marketing process yesterday and plans to list on the Singapore Exchange next month, they said. They...