A Real-Estate Investment Trust, or REIT for short, is a company that owns income-generating real estate properties (Investopedia). Outside of Japan, Singapore is the largest REIT market in Asia with a total of 42 REITs and property trusts listed on the Singapore Exchange. REITs in Singapore may have a property portfolio that comprises both local and overseas properties.
REITs tend to specialise in specific real estate segments in order to leverage their specialty. One such example would be CapitaLand Ascott Trust (CLAS), a REIT that currently owns 103 properties in 44 cities across 15 countries, including Australia, China, Europe, Japan, U.S. and Singapore. Even if we don’t invest in the stock, we would likely be familiar with the company and may have even stayed in the various serviced residences or hotels that CLAS owns across the world.
CLAS was listed in 2006 with an initial portfolio worth $856 million. Since listing, it has adapted to various shifts in the economic landscape – the pandemic being the most recent – by employing various business strategies such as diversification and tapping into potential markets. Today, its total assets have grown to $8.1 billion, and it is still constantly growing despite the current unpredictable economic environment.
Presently, CLAS is headed by its CEO Serena Teo, who has been in the property management business for over 15 years.
DollarsAndSense speaks to Serena Teo as part of our The Building Series, a business podcast show where we speak to business leaders and hear their stories and game plans on what it takes to build a business.
You can watch the full episode on our YouTube channel or listen to it on Spotify.
The Building Series:
Listen to it on Spotify: https://spotify.link/cyNe6m5h8Db
Watch it on YouTube: https://youtu.be/VVbJCB3MQEk?si=W-II7F7JJyWY0Vft
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