SINGAPORE: There are 34 Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), five stapled trusts and three property trusts listed on Singapore Exchange (SGX). The sector has a combined market capitalisation of nearly S$100 billion, with Retail, Industrial and Office REITs making up the largest segments.[the_ad id=”31605″]Of these 42 trusts, 19 have more than half their assets located in markets outside Singapore – including the US, UK, Australia, North Asia and ASEAN – and have a combined market capitalisation of more than S$30 billion.
Among the 19, single-market REITs include Fortune REIT (100% Hong Kong assets), Lippo Malls Indonesia Retail Trust (100% Indonesia), and Ascendas India Trust (100% India). Pure China plays are CapitaLand Retail China Trust, Sasseur REIT, EC World REIT, Dasin Retail Trust and BHG Retail Trust. There are two US-based trusts – Manulife US REIT and Keppel KBS US REIT – and two European-focused REITs – IREIT Global (100% German assets) and Cromwell European REIT (100% Europe).
Their property assets are equally diversified across the various sub-segments: 12 own office towers, logistics warehouses and business parks, while five own shopping malls. Three have serviced residences and hotels in their portfolios, while one owns healthcare assets in the form of hospitals, medical centres and nursing homes.
Two international REITs – Mapletree Logistics Trust and Mapletree North Asia Commercial Trust – are also in the benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) Reserve List.
Among the 19, the five best performers in the 2019 year-to-date were: Sasseur REIT (+29.0%), First REIT (+27.2%), EC World REIT (+22.6%), Mapletree North Asia Commercial Trust (+21.2%), and Ascendas Hospitality Trust (+20.1%). The five have averaged a YTD total return of +24.0%, bringing their one-year and three-year total returns to +6.9% and +25.5% respectively.
The five highest-yielding trusts among them are: Lippo Malls Indonesia Retail Trust (8.8%), Keppel-KBS US REIT (8.6%), First REIT (8.3%), Dasin Retail Trust (8.2%), and EC World REIT (8.1%). These five have averaged a dividend indicated yield of 8.4%.
Since late last year, analysts have noted revived investor interest in S-REITs, driven by a flight to safety amidst the uncertain outlook for US-Sino trade negotiations, the hunt for higher yields, and global market volatility. In the first quarter of 2019, S-REITs have received net institutional inflows totalling S$239.6 million. It was also the top net buy sector in January, according to SGX data.
The relatively strong fundamentals of S-REITs – about 80% have hedged at least 70% of their debt with fixed rates, while all are required by regulation to have a maximum gearing ratio of 45% – should also help mitigate the impact of the higher interest-rate environment.
Further boosting the sector were dovish signals from the US Federal Reserve during its most recent policy-setting meeting in March, which represented a pivot from its policy stance late last year. Fed officials now expect not to raise rates at all this year, after lifting interest rates four times over the course of 2018.
Following its two-day Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting later this week, the Fed is widely anticipated to hold interest rates steady. In recent weeks, officials have given no signal of any change to the US central bank’s benchmark overnight lending rate, currently set in a range of 2.25%-2.50%. Fed officials will not update their quarterly forecasts, including the “dot-plot” of interest-rate projections, until they next meet in June.