S-REITs Report Card: Here’s How Singapore REITs Performed In First Half 2017

Combining property investments with relatively high and regular dividends, Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) are one of Singaporeans favourite investments.

We’re at the time of the year when Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) are paying out their distributions to investors again. This means that most of them have recently released their quarterly or half-yearly results, which was near the end of July. In this article, we look at how REITs have performed at the halftime mark in 2017.

Read Also: How REITs In Singapore Performed In 2016

1 New REIT, And 1 REIT ETF, Listing In Singapore In The First Half Of 2017

In the first six months of 2017, the Singapore Exchange (SGX) welcomed one REIT, China-based Dasin Retail Trust, and one REIT exchange traded fund (ETF), NikkoAM-Straits Trading Asia Ex Japan REIT ETF.

Dasin Retail Trust made its debut on the SGX on 20 January 2017. With three shopping malls in its initial portfolio of properties, the REIT has already added a new shopping mall to enlarge its portfolio of properties. Listed at an IPO price of $0.80, the trust has performed stably and trades at $0.85 (as at 31 August 2017).

NikkoAM-Straits Trading Asia Ex Japan REIT ETF was listed on the SGX on 29 March 2017. Exactly as its name suggests, this REIT ETF is managed by Nikko AM and Straits Trading, and it invests in REITs within Asia but outside of Japan. Listed at an offer price of $1.00, the REIT ETF is now trading at $1.10 (as at 31 August 2017).

1 REIT To Be Delisted, And 1 REIT To Be Listed

Japan-based Croesus Retail Trust (CRT), which manages 11 retail properties worth close to $1.5 billion, is likely to be delisted following a buyout offer of over $900 million, or $1.17 per share.

Read Also: 4 stocks this week (Buyouts): GLP; M1; Croesus Retail Trust; UEL

While REIT investors will lose out on a quality REIT investment on the SGX, there is already a new listing ready to make up for this loss. Cromwell European REIT, or CEREIT, has gotten the go-ahead from the SGX to proceed with its listing in Singapore. With a focus on properties in smaller European cities, the REIT is expected to ride on the recovery in the region.

Update (20 October 2017): Cromwell European REIT has dropped plans to list in Singapore citing current market conditions. On the bright side, another REIT ETF, the Lion-Phillip S-REIT ETF, comprising only Singapore-listed REITs, will be listed on the SGX on 30 October 2017.

Update (20 November 2017): Cromwell European REIT has revived its plans to list in Singapore after re-configuring its property mix – dropping its Polish retail properties components while keeping majority of the rest.

44 REITs and Property-Related Stapled Securities And Trusts, And 2 REIT ETFs, In Singapore

⁺ Based on IPO price (as at listing on 20 January 2017)

⁺⁺ Based on IPO price (as at listing on 29 March 2017)

⁺⁺⁺ RHT Health Trust divested part of its portfolio in February 2017; it paid out a special dividend of $0.248 per unit to shareholders

⁺⁺⁺⁺ Based on OCBC Investment Research Indications

*From respective product factsheets

Benchmark Your Returns

One other thing REIT investors can do is to compare the returns our investments have given us to certain benchmarks. This will give us a good idea of the general investment climate as well as provide a comparison for how well or badly our investments have performed.

Read Also: How To Diversify Your Investment Portfolio Outside Of Singapore

A few good benchmarks for REIT investors to look at could be the SGX S-REIT 20 Index, the two listed REIT Exchange Traded funds (ETFs) in Singapore or even the Straits Times Index (STI) ETF returns. After understanding how your investments have performed, relative to industry benchmarks, you can make an informed decision to rebalance your portfolio.

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