SGX Market Strategist, Equity & Fixed Income, Singapore Exchange Ltd (SGX)

Geoff Howie

SGX Market Strategist, Equity & Fixed Income

Asia’s leading multi-asset exchange

Singapore Exchange Ltd (SGX)

Singapore Exchange is Asia’s leading and trusted market infrastructure, facilitating the exchange of capital and ideas to create value for people, businesses and economies. As a multi-asset exchange operating equity, fixed income and derivatives markets to the highest regulatory standards, SGX is a vertically integrated business that provides listing, trading, clearing, settlement, depository and data services.

With about 40% of listed companies and over 80% of listed bonds originating outside of Singapore as well as established linkages across the region and in Europe, SGX is Asia’s most international and connected exchange. Offering a full suite of derivatives products across Asian equity indices, commodities and currencies, SGX is the world’s most liquid international market for the benchmark equity indices of China, India, Japan and ASEAN.

As Asia’s pioneering central counterparty, SGX is globally recognised for its risk management and clearing capabilities, and was one of the first globally to adopt the Principles for Financial Market Infrastructure.

Headquartered in AAA-rated Singapore, SGX has over 800 employees including offices in Beijing, Chicago, Hong Kong, London, New York, Mumbai, San Francisco, Shanghai and Tokyo.

Equity Bottom-Up

<figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://api2.sgx.com/sites/default/files/2022-03/Capture_16.PNG" class="editor-image img-responsive"></figure>
<div class="content-caption">Insti investors continue to net buy sreits</div>

The iEdge S-Reit Index recovered 2.5 per cent in total returns over the past 5 sessions (Feb 25, 2022 through to Mar 3, 2022), after a 2 per cent decline seen last Thursday (Feb 24) as global markets saw major moves amid the market volatility.
Despite the dip, the iEdge S-Reit Index has returned 0.6 per cent in total returns for the whole period from Feb 24, 2022 through to Mar 3, 2022.
This means it outperformed the FTSE EPRA Nareit Asia ex-Japan Index which declined 0.7 per cent during the same period. Within the S-Reit sub-sectors, gainers were led by the specialised, healthcare and office Reits while decliners were led by hospitality, retail and diversified Reits.
During the period, institutional investors have been a key driver in S-Reits' fund flow activities, accumulating net institutional inflows of S$30.4 million.
Retail investors on the other hand, net sold S$42.6 million for the sector. In terms of sub-sectors, institutional flows were driven by inflows seen in diversified S-Reits (+S$16.7 million), specialised/data centre S-Reits (+S$6.9 million), and office S-Reits (+S$6.7 million).
The largest retail outflows were seen in diversified S-Reits (-S$22.8 million), office S-Reits (-S$6.6 million), and industrial S-Reits (-S$5.5 million).
On a year-to-date basis, S-Reits have seen a 2 per cent decline, against the Straits Times Index's 4.4 per cent total returns, while the FTSE EPRA Nareit Asia ex-Japan Index has seen a decline of 2.3 per cent.
Interest rates continue to be a key focus for the sector, as expectations of a rate hike grow.
As the earnings season concludes for the sector, broad based distribution per unit growth and healthy occupancy rates remain a common theme. REIT Watch is a weekly column on The Business Times,<a href="https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/green-shoots-for-retail-and-hospitality-s-reits-amid-new-pandemic-phase" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&nbsp;</a><a href="https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/institutional-investors-continue-to-net-buy-s-reits" target="_blank" rel="noopener">read&nbsp;</a>the original version.


Insti investors continue to net buy sreits

The iEdge S-Reit Index recovered 2.5 per cent in total returns over the past 5 sessions (Feb 25, 2022 through to Mar 3, 2022), after a 2 per cent decline seen last Thursday (Feb 24) as global markets saw major moves amid the market volatility.
Despite the dip, the iEdge S-Reit Index has returned 0.6 per cent in total returns for the whole period from Feb 24, 2022 through to Mar 3, 2022.
This means it outperformed the FTSE EPRA Nareit Asia ex-Japan Index which declined 0.7 per cent during the same period.  Within the S-Reit sub-sectors, gainers were led by the specialised, healthcare and office Reits while decliners were led by hospitality, retail and diversified Reits.
During the period, institutional investors have been a key driver in S-Reits' fund flow activities, accumulating net institutional inflows of S$30.4 million.
Retail investors on the other hand, net sold S$42.6 million for the sector.  In terms of sub-sectors, institutional flows were driven by inflows seen in diversified S-Reits (+S$16.7 million), specialised/data centre S-Reits (+S$6.9 million), and office S-Reits (+S$6.7 million).
The largest retail outflows were seen in diversified S-Reits (-S$22.8 million), office S-Reits (-S$6.6 million), and industrial S-Reits (-S$5.5 million).
On a year-to-date basis, S-Reits have seen a 2 per cent decline, against the Straits Times Index's 4.4 per cent total returns, while the FTSE EPRA Nareit Asia ex-Japan Index has seen a decline of 2.3 per cent.
Interest rates continue to be a key focus for the sector, as expectations of a rate hike grow.
As the earnings season concludes for the sector, broad based distribution per unit growth and healthy occupancy rates remain a common theme.  REIT Watch is a weekly column on The Business Times,&nbsp;read&nbsp;the original version.

REIT Watch - Institutional Investors Continue to Net Buy S-Reits

<figure>
 <img src='https://api2.sgx.com/sites/default/files/2022-02/Capture_0.PNG' alt='Singapore office assets' />
 </figure>
 <div class='content-caption'>Singapore office assets</div>
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd">
<html><body>
According to data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), office rental prices in Q4 2021 have improved by 0.9 per cent quarter on quarter. The improvement in Q4 2021 comes after a decline of 3.5 per cent in the previous quarter. On a year-on-year basis, office rents have improved by 1.9 per cent in 2021, after dipping over 8.5 per cent in 2020.

Office vacancy rates have also shown a slight improvement in the latest Q4 2021 at 12.8 per cent. 
Listed in Singapore are five S-REITs with significant exposure to local office assets: CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust (CICT), Mapletree Commercial Trust (MCT), Suntec REIT, Keppel REIT, and OUE Commercial REIT. Three have reported full year 2021 results. 
CICT is a diversified S-Reit which has 36.8 per cent of its portfolio value in office-related assets with a majority located in Singapore. It reported a full-year 2021 gross revenue exceeding S$1.3 billion and net property income of over S$951 million from its enlarged portfolio since the merger of CapitaLand Mall Trust and CapitaLand Commercial Trust in 2020.

CICT's office portfolio has seen average office rentals improve 2.6 per cent quarter on quarter to S$10.33 psf on Dec 31, 2021 and improving from S$10.27 psf on Dec 31, 2020. The Reit's office occupancy rate stands at 91.5 per cent and it notes that the gap between committed rents and expired rents is expected to narrow as office market rentals look to improve.

CICT's major new leases and renewals completed in Q4 2021 and January 2022 included GIC, Mabanaft and Satellite (International) Singapore, and the Reit aims to continue to backfill vacancy in the portfolio as well as manage leases expiring in 2022. 
Suntec Reit has 82.2 per cent of its diversified portfolio in the office sector. It reported a full year 2021 gross revenue of over S$358 million, increasing 13.5 per cent year on year, and a net property income of over S$254 million, expanding 27.4 per cent year on year.

Suntec Reit's 3 Singapore office properties - Suntec City Office, One Raffles Quay, and MBFC Towers 1 and 2 - have an overall occupancy rate of 97.5 per cent, improving from 97.0 per cent the year before and exceeding that of Singapore's Core CBD occupancy rate of 93.3 per cent. Rent reversions grew 3.2 per cent in 2021 and its top 3 new tenants in 2021 include sectors from technology, media and telecommunications, banking, insurance and financial services, and manufacturing &amp; distribution.

Suntec Reit expects the outlook for its Singapore office portfolio to improve in tandem with economic recovery and income contribution to increase driven by cumulative positive rent reversions achieved in the past 14 quarters. However, the Reit notes that high expiry rents may result in weak positive rent reversion.

Keppel Reit is a pure-play office S-Reit with 78.4 per cent of its portfolio in Singapore office assets. It declared full year net property income of over S$172 million, increasing 27.3 per cent year on year and driven by acquisitions of Keppel Bay Tower in Singapore and Blue &amp; William in North Sydney and divestment of 275 George Street in Brisbane.

Keppel Reit has an occupancy rate of 95.4 per cent and its tenant retention rate was 62 per cent for FY2021.

OUE Commercial Reit is due to report second half and financial year ended Dec 31, 2021 after trading hours on Feb 16, 2022.  REIT Watch is a weekly column on The Business Times,<a href="https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/keppel-groups-s-reits-average-36-dpu-growth-for-fy2021"> </a><a href="https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/s-reits-with-singapore-office-assets-sanguine-on-rental-outlook">read </a>the original version.
</body></html>


      
    
    Singapore office assets


According to data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), office rental prices in Q4 2021 have improved by 0.9 per cent quarter on quarter. The improvement in Q4 2021 comes after a decline of 3.5 per cent in the previous quarter. On a year-on-year basis, office rents have improved by 1.9 per cent in 2021, after dipping over 8.5 per cent in 2020.

Office vacancy rates have also shown a slight improvement in the latest Q4 2021 at 12.8 per cent.  
Listed in Singapore are five S-REITs with significant exposure to local office assets: CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust (CICT), Mapletree Commercial Trust (MCT), Suntec REIT, Keppel REIT, and OUE Commercial REIT. Three have reported full year 2021 results.  
CICT is a diversified S-Reit which has 36.8 per cent of its portfolio value in office-related assets with a majority located in Singapore. It reported a full-year 2021 gross revenue exceeding S$1.3 billion and net property income of over S$951 million from its enlarged portfolio since the merger of CapitaLand Mall Trust and CapitaLand Commercial Trust in 2020.

CICT's office portfolio has seen average office rentals improve 2.6 per cent quarter on quarter to S$10.33 psf on Dec 31, 2021 and improving from S$10.27 psf on Dec 31, 2020. The Reit's office occupancy rate stands at 91.5 per cent and it notes that the gap between committed rents and expired rents is expected to narrow as office market rentals look to improve.

CICT's major new leases and renewals completed in Q4 2021 and January 2022 included GIC, Mabanaft and Satellite (International) Singapore, and the Reit aims to continue to backfill vacancy in the portfolio as well as manage leases expiring in 2022.  
Suntec Reit has 82.2 per cent of its diversified portfolio in the office sector. It reported a full year 2021 gross revenue of over S$358 million, increasing 13.5 per cent year on year, and a net property income of over S$254 million, expanding 27.4 per cent year on year.

Suntec Reit's 3 Singapore office properties - Suntec City Office, One Raffles Quay, and MBFC Towers 1 and 2 - have an overall occupancy rate of 97.5 per cent, improving from 97.0 per cent the year before and exceeding that of Singapore's Core CBD occupancy rate of 93.3 per cent. Rent reversions grew 3.2 per cent in 2021 and its top 3 new tenants in 2021 include sectors from technology, media and telecommunications, banking, insurance and financial services, and manufacturing &amp; distribution.

Suntec Reit expects the outlook for its Singapore office portfolio to improve in tandem with economic recovery and income contribution to increase driven by cumulative positive rent reversions achieved in the past 14 quarters. However, the Reit notes that high expiry rents may result in weak positive rent reversion.

Keppel Reit is a pure-play office S-Reit with 78.4 per cent of its portfolio in Singapore office assets. It declared full year net property income of over S$172 million, increasing 27.3 per cent year on year and driven by acquisitions of Keppel Bay Tower in Singapore and Blue &amp; William in North Sydney and divestment of 275 George Street in Brisbane.

Keppel Reit has an occupancy rate of 95.4 per cent and its tenant retention rate was 62 per cent for FY2021.

OUE Commercial Reit is due to report second half and financial year ended Dec 31, 2021 after trading hours on Feb 16, 2022.   REIT Watch is a weekly column on The Business Times, read the original version.



REIT Watch - S-Reits with Singapore office assets sanguine on rental outlook

<figure>
 <img src='https://api2.sgx.com/sites/default/files/2022-01/Capture_8.PNG' alt='Timeline of SREIT proposed and completed M&As since 2018' />
 </figure>
 <div class='content-caption'>Timeline of SREIT proposed and completed M&As since 2018</div>
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd">
<html><body>
For S-Reits, listing on the exchange is the beginning of a journey. Twenty-four S-Reits had announced asset acquisitions valued at over S$15.3 billion and exceeding S$12.7 billion in total purchase consideration in 2021.

Aside from asset acquisitions, S-Reits have also been active in terms of mergers and acquisition (M&amp;A) opportunities. They have seen at least 5 consolidations since 2018 and could be seeing 2 more this year.

The 5 consolidated S-Reits since 2018 are CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust (by CapitaLand Mall Trust and CapitaLand Commercial Trust), Frasers Logistics &amp; Commercial Trust (by Frasers Commercial Trust and Frasers Logistics &amp; Industrial Trust), Ascott Residence Trust (by Ascott Residence Trust and Ascendas Hospitality Trust), OUE Commercial REIT (OUE Commercial REIT and OUE Hospitality Trust), and ESR-REIT (by ESR-REIT and Viva Industrial Trust). 
Most recently announced on Dec 31, 2021 is the proposed merger between Mapletree Commercial Trust (MCT) and Mapletree North Asia Commercial Trust (MNACT) to form Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust (MPACT). 
The proposed merger is expected to propel the combined entity to be the seventh largest REIT listed in Asia with a market capitalisation of approximately S$10.5 billion. 
The combined portfolio will consist of 18 commercial assets diversified across Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea with assets under management (AUM) of approximately S$17.1 billion (per MCT’s AUM as of 30 September 2021 and MNACT’s AUM as of 31 October 2021). 
The proposed merger is expected to be effected by a trust scheme of arrangement with MCT acquiring all MNACT Units in exchange for new units in MCT or a combination of cash and MCT Units.

Reit managers of MCT and MNACT view the merger as an opportunity to bring together 2 leading commercial Reits with highly complementary qualities and see the combined portfolio in providing higher financial flexibility and debt headroom to accelerate its growth and acquisitions.

The new entity is also expected to benefit from the increased representation in key indices and potentially attract a wider investor base and improved trading liquidity.

Another proposed merger in progress is by ESR-Reit and Ara Logos Logistics Trust (ALOG) to form ESR-LOGOS REIT (E-LOG), with a core focus on new economy real estate. 
The combined entity, E-LOG, will hold a diversified portfolio of 87 properties consisting of logistics/warehouse, high-specifications industrial properties, business parks and general industrial properties with total assets of approximately S$5.4 billion across Singapore and Australia (as of 30 June 2021). 
Similarly, via a trust scheme, the proposed merger will see ESR-Reit acquire all units in ALOG in exchange for a combination of cash and new units in ESR-Reit.

Reit managers of ESR-Reit and ALOG have noted that the proposed merger will enhance E-LOG's growth trajectory backed by its sponsor, ESR Group, by providing access to the sponsor's new economy pipeline properties in Asia-Pacific worth over US$50 billion.  REIT Watch is a weekly column on The Business Times, <a href="https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/s-reits-bigger-and-bolder-over-the-years">read </a>the original version.
</body></html>


      
    
    Timeline of SREIT proposed and completed M&As since 2018


For S-Reits, listing on the exchange is the beginning of a journey. Twenty-four S-Reits had announced asset acquisitions valued at over S$15.3 billion and exceeding S$12.7 billion in total purchase consideration in 2021.

Aside from asset acquisitions, S-Reits have also been active in terms of mergers and acquisition (M&amp;A) opportunities. They have seen at least 5 consolidations since 2018 and could be seeing 2 more this year.

The 5 consolidated S-Reits since 2018 are CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust (by CapitaLand Mall Trust and CapitaLand Commercial Trust), Frasers Logistics &amp; Commercial Trust (by Frasers Commercial Trust and Frasers Logistics &amp; Industrial Trust), Ascott Residence Trust (by Ascott Residence Trust and Ascendas Hospitality Trust), OUE Commercial REIT (OUE Commercial REIT and OUE Hospitality Trust), and ESR-REIT (by ESR-REIT and Viva Industrial Trust).  
Most recently announced on Dec 31, 2021 is the proposed merger between Mapletree Commercial Trust (MCT) and Mapletree North Asia Commercial Trust (MNACT) to form Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust (MPACT).  
The proposed merger is expected to propel the combined entity to be the seventh largest REIT listed in Asia with a market capitalisation of approximately S$10.5 billion.  
The combined portfolio will consist of 18 commercial assets diversified across Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea with assets under management (AUM) of approximately S$17.1 billion (per MCT’s AUM as of 30 September 2021 and MNACT’s AUM as of 31 October 2021).  
The proposed merger is expected to be effected by a trust scheme of arrangement with MCT acquiring all MNACT Units in exchange for new units in MCT or a combination of cash and MCT Units.

Reit managers of MCT and MNACT view the merger as an opportunity to bring together 2 leading commercial Reits with highly complementary qualities and see the combined portfolio in providing higher financial flexibility and debt headroom to accelerate its growth and acquisitions.

The new entity is also expected to benefit from the increased representation in key indices and potentially attract a wider investor base and improved trading liquidity.

Another proposed merger in progress is by ESR-Reit and Ara Logos Logistics Trust (ALOG) to form ESR-LOGOS REIT (E-LOG), with a core focus on new economy real estate.  
The combined entity, E-LOG, will hold a diversified portfolio of 87 properties consisting of logistics/warehouse, high-specifications industrial properties, business parks and general industrial properties with total assets of approximately S$5.4 billion across Singapore and Australia (as of 30 June 2021).  
Similarly, via a trust scheme, the proposed merger will see ESR-Reit acquire all units in ALOG in exchange for a combination of cash and new units in ESR-Reit.

Reit managers of ESR-Reit and ALOG have noted that the proposed merger will enhance E-LOG's growth trajectory backed by its sponsor, ESR Group, by providing access to the sponsor's new economy pipeline properties in Asia-Pacific worth over US$50 billion.   REIT Watch is a weekly column on The Business Times, read the original version.



REIT Watch - S-Reits: Bigger and bolder over the years

Lendlease Global Commercial REIT / Equity Bottom-Up

Lendlease Global Commercial REIT (LREIT SP)

<figure>
 <img src='https://api2.sgx.com/sites/default/files/2021-11/Capture.PNG' alt='Top performer SREIT and property' />
 </figure>
 <div class='content-caption'>Top performer SREIT and property</div>
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd">
<html><body>
In the year to date, Singapore-listed Reits and property trusts averaged total returns of close to 11 per cent. The 10 best-performing trusts were mostly mid-caps, which averaged 32 per cent total returns and own assets across industrial, retail, healthcare, office and hospitality sub-segments.

Among the 10 best performers, seven were recent inclusions into the FTSE EPRA Nareit Global Developed Index following the September review. 
The five trusts which received the highest amount of net institutional inflows this year were mid-cap REITs (data as of 28 October): ARA LOGOS Logistics Trust (+S$79 million), OUE Commercial REIT (+S$39 million), Starhill Global REIT (+S$36 million), Lendlease Global Commercial REIT (+S$27 million) and ESR-REIT (+S$26 million). 
In the month of October, the sector averaged 3 per cent in total returns. Retail investors net bought the sector with net inflows of S$158 million while institutional investors net sold S$195 million (data as at Oct 28). 
Four of the top five performers over the month were trusts with exposure to the retail or hospitality segments - Dasin Retail Trust (21 per cent), CDL Hospitality Trusts (15 per cent), Ascott Residence Trust (11 per cent), Lippo Malls Indonesia Retail Trust (8 per cent) and Keppel REIT (7 per cent). Three of them reported before market opened last Friday. 
CDLHT reported year-on-year (yoy) growth of 34.8 per cent in net property income for Q3 2021 attributable to the ongoing recovery from negative effects of the pandemic, broader distribution of vaccines as well as easing of travel restrictions which resulted in more accommodation demand. 
LMIRT declared Q3 2021 distribution per unit (DPU) of 0.09 cents, up 28.6 per cent yoy. The trust's rental revenue and gross revenue for the period grew 16.2 per cent and 7.0 per cent yoy respectively, due to income from the newly acquired Lippo Mall Puri, which contributed S$8.2 million to rental revenue and S$10.3 million to gross revenue for the quarter.

Keppel Reit reported 20.8 per cent yoy growth in distributable income from operations for the nine months of 2021, due mainly to contributions from Victoria Police Centre in Melbourne, Pinnacle Office Park in Sydney and Keppel Bay Tower in Singapore. The Reit noted that despite the pandemic, portfolio leasing activities remained positive with new leases and expansions seen from diverse industry sectors.

Aside from the three trusts above, more than half of the 40 S-Reits have also released financial results or business updates, before market opened last Friday.

Most of the trusts reported financial and operating metrics which were in line with analysts' estimates, with some exceeding expectations.

Among the trusts that have reported, 14 of them declared DPUs for the latest quarter or half year period. These trusts, on average, saw a 20 per cent year-on-year growth in declared DPUs. Some reasons provided for the increase in DPUs across these trusts include new acquisitions which boosted revenues, lower rental rebates which reduced expense and gradual reopening across the globe. REIT Watch is a weekly column on The Business Times,<a href="https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/retail-and-hospitality-sector-s-reits-outperform-in-october"> read </a>the original version.
</body></html>


      
    
    Top performer SREIT and property


In the year to date, Singapore-listed Reits and property trusts averaged total returns of close to 11 per cent. The 10 best-performing trusts were mostly mid-caps, which averaged 32 per cent total returns and own assets across industrial, retail, healthcare, office and hospitality sub-segments.

Among the 10 best performers, seven were recent inclusions into the FTSE EPRA Nareit Global Developed Index following the September review.  
The five trusts which received the highest amount of net institutional inflows this year were mid-cap REITs (data as of 28 October): ARA LOGOS Logistics Trust (+S$79 million), OUE Commercial REIT (+S$39 million), Starhill Global REIT (+S$36 million), Lendlease Global Commercial REIT (+S$27 million) and ESR-REIT (+S$26 million).  
In the month of October, the sector averaged 3 per cent in total returns. Retail investors net bought the sector with net inflows of S$158 million while institutional investors net sold S$195 million (data as at Oct 28).  
Four of the top five performers over the month were trusts with exposure to the retail or hospitality segments - Dasin Retail Trust (21 per cent), CDL Hospitality Trusts (15 per cent), Ascott Residence Trust (11 per cent), Lippo Malls Indonesia Retail Trust (8 per cent) and Keppel REIT (7 per cent). Three of them reported before market opened last Friday.  
CDLHT reported year-on-year (yoy) growth of 34.8 per cent in net property income for Q3 2021 attributable to the ongoing recovery from negative effects of the pandemic, broader distribution of vaccines as well as easing of travel restrictions which resulted in more accommodation demand.  
LMIRT declared Q3 2021 distribution per unit (DPU) of 0.09 cents, up 28.6 per cent yoy. The trust's rental revenue and gross revenue for the period grew 16.2 per cent and 7.0 per cent yoy respectively, due to income from the newly acquired Lippo Mall Puri, which contributed S$8.2 million to rental revenue and S$10.3 million to gross revenue for the quarter.

Keppel Reit reported 20.8 per cent yoy growth in distributable income from operations for the nine months of 2021, due mainly to contributions from Victoria Police Centre in Melbourne, Pinnacle Office Park in Sydney and Keppel Bay Tower in Singapore. The Reit noted that despite the pandemic, portfolio leasing activities remained positive with new leases and expansions seen from diverse industry sectors.

Aside from the three trusts above, more than half of the 40 S-Reits have also released financial results or business updates, before market opened last Friday.

Most of the trusts reported financial and operating metrics which were in line with analysts' estimates, with some exceeding expectations.

Among the trusts that have reported, 14 of them declared DPUs for the latest quarter or half year period. These trusts, on average, saw a 20 per cent year-on-year growth in declared DPUs. Some reasons provided for the increase in DPUs across these trusts include new acquisitions which boosted revenues, lower rental rebates which reduced expense and gradual reopening across the globe.  REIT Watch is a weekly column on The Business Times, read the original version.



REIT Watch - Retail and hospitality sector S-Reits outperform in October

<figure>
 <img src='https://api2.sgx.com/sites/default/files/2021-10/Capture_14.PNG' alt='SREIT' />
 </figure>
 <div class='content-caption'>SREIT</div>
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd">
<html><body>
Singapore continues to pursue a "Living with Covid-19" strategy, with anticipation to transit to a "new normal" in three to six months.

In the move to reopen borders and re-establish the country's status as a global hub, Singapore has extended its Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) scheme to eight more countries.

With more of such arrangements in discussion, the country's travel and hospitality sector is poised to benefit in the long run. 
There are five trusts in the S-REITs and Property Trusts sector with exposure to the hospitality segment in Singapore – Ascott Residence Trust, CDL Hospitality Trusts, Far East Hospitality Trust, Frasers Hospitality Trust and OUE Commercial REIT. 
These five trusts have averaged 6.0 per cent in total returns in the year to date.

Following the announcement to expand the VTL scheme on Oct 9, these five trusts advanced an average of 5.4 per cent in the four trading sessions from Oct 11 to 14. 
Ascott Residence Trust (ART), one of the largest hospitality trusts in Asia-Pacific, has a portfolio of 89 properties, including serviced residences, hotels, rental housing and student accommodation.

ART observed that the initial phase of recovery remained largely driven by the domestic and essential corporate travel segments, and expects the return of international demand to be more gradual.

OUE Commercial Reit (OUE C-Reit) owns seven properties across the commercial and hospitality segments in Singapore and Shanghai, including Mandarin Orchard Singapore and Crowne Plaza Changi Airport.

In its first half 2021 results announcement, it noted that its hospitality segment revenue remained flat year on year due to the minimum rent under the master lease arrangements of the hotel properties.

CDL Hospitality Trusts (CDLHT) owns 15 hotels globally, including six in Singapore, and two resorts comprising a total of 4,631 rooms as well as a retail mall.

CDLHT noted that its portfolio of six Singapore hotels continued to be impacted by continued border closures and absence of major meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) events.

Several of these trusts have conducted rebranding and asset enhancement exercises in preparation for the eventual upturn of the sector.

This includes ART, which started the rejuvenation of Somerset Liang Court and lyf one-north in Singapore, and OUE C-Reit's renovation of Mandarin Orchard Singapore.

Far East Hospitality Trust, the only pure-play Singapore hospitality trust, has also committed to expedite its asset enhancements.

To create more resilient portfolios and stable income streams, ART and CDLHT have also announced the expansion of their investment mandates to include more asset types.

CDLHT expanded its principal investment strategy to include rental housing, co-living, student accommodation and senior housing in July 2021.

ART has announced three acquisitions in the United States' student accommodation segment since the start of the year.  REIT Watch is a weekly column on The Business Times,<a href="https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/china-focused-s-reits-resilient-amid-onshore-property-focus"> </a><a href="https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/hospitality-s-reits-taking-off-with-more-travel-lanes">read </a>the original version.
</body></html>


      
    
    SREIT


Singapore continues to pursue a "Living with Covid-19" strategy, with anticipation to transit to a "new normal" in three to six months.

In the move to reopen borders and re-establish the country's status as a global hub, Singapore has extended its Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) scheme to eight more countries.

With more of such arrangements in discussion, the country's travel and hospitality sector is poised to benefit in the long run.  
There are five trusts in the S-REITs and Property Trusts sector with exposure to the hospitality segment in Singapore – Ascott Residence Trust, CDL Hospitality Trusts, Far East Hospitality Trust, Frasers Hospitality Trust and OUE Commercial REIT.   
These five trusts have averaged 6.0 per cent in total returns in the year to date.

Following the announcement to expand the VTL scheme on Oct 9, these five trusts advanced an average of 5.4 per cent in the four trading sessions from Oct 11 to 14.  
Ascott Residence Trust (ART), one of the largest hospitality trusts in Asia-Pacific, has a portfolio of 89 properties, including serviced residences, hotels, rental housing and student accommodation.

ART observed that the initial phase of recovery remained largely driven by the domestic and essential corporate travel segments, and expects the return of international demand to be more gradual.

OUE Commercial Reit (OUE C-Reit) owns seven properties across the commercial and hospitality segments in Singapore and Shanghai, including Mandarin Orchard Singapore and Crowne Plaza Changi Airport.

In its first half 2021 results announcement, it noted that its hospitality segment revenue remained flat year on year due to the minimum rent under the master lease arrangements of the hotel properties.

CDL Hospitality Trusts (CDLHT) owns 15 hotels globally, including six in Singapore, and two resorts comprising a total of 4,631 rooms as well as a retail mall.

CDLHT noted that its portfolio of six Singapore hotels continued to be impacted by continued border closures and absence of major meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) events.

Several of these trusts have conducted rebranding and asset enhancement exercises in preparation for the eventual upturn of the sector.

This includes ART, which started the rejuvenation of Somerset Liang Court and lyf one-north in Singapore, and OUE C-Reit's renovation of Mandarin Orchard Singapore.

Far East Hospitality Trust, the only pure-play Singapore hospitality trust, has also committed to expedite its asset enhancements.

To create more resilient portfolios and stable income streams, ART and CDLHT have also announced the expansion of their investment mandates to include more asset types.

CDLHT expanded its principal investment strategy to include rental housing, co-living, student accommodation and senior housing in July 2021.

ART has announced three acquisitions in the United States' student accommodation segment since the start of the year.   REIT Watch is a weekly column on The Business Times, read the original version.



REIT Watch - Hospitality S-Reits taking off with more travel lanes

Singapore

OUE Real Estate Investment Trust is a Singapore-based diversified real estate investment trust that invests in income-producing properties primarily for hospitality, retail, and office purposes. Its portfolio includes prime office buildings, high-end retail malls, and upper upscale hotels in Singapore and Australia. The company was constituted in 2013 and is headquartered in Singapore.

Price Gauge
52-week Range	0.00 - 0.00
Market Cap (USDm)	0.00
P/E	0.00
Dividend (Yield)	0.00

OUE (OUEREIT SP)

REIT Watch - Institutional Investors Continue to Net Buy S-Reits

The iEdge S-Reit Index recovered 2.5 per cent in total returns over the past 5 sessions (Feb 25, 2022 through to Mar 3, 2022), after a 2 per...

Singapore Exchange Ltd (SGX)

REIT Watch - S-Reits with Singapore office assets sanguine on rental outlook

According to data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), office rental prices in Q4 2021 have improved by 0.9 per cent...

Singapore Exchange Ltd (SGX)

REIT Watch - S-Reits: Bigger and bolder over the years

For S-Reits, listing on the exchange is the beginning of a journey. Twenty-four S-Reits had announced asset acquisitions valued...

Singapore Exchange Ltd (SGX)

REIT Watch - Retail and hospitality sector S-Reits outperform in October

In the year to date, Singapore-listed Reits and property trusts averaged total returns of close to 11 per cent. The 10...

Singapore Exchange Ltd (SGX)

REIT Watch - Hospitality S-Reits taking off with more travel lanes

Singapore continues to pursue a "Living with Covid-19" strategy, with anticipation to transit to a "new normal" in three to six...

Singapore Exchange Ltd (SGX)

Price Gauge

52-week Range

Market Cap (USDm)

P/E

Dividend (Yield)