REIT Oracle

CICT to Buy Half of ION Orchard Mall From Sponsor

CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust is planning to acquire a 50% stake in Singapore's most famous mall, ION Orchard, at a property valuation of S$1,848 million:

CapitaLand Investment (CLI) will divest its 50% interest in ION Orchard to CICT. ION Orchard is currently held in a joint venture with Sun Hung Kai Properties holding the remaining 50%.

CICT's manager plans to raise $1.1 billion to pay for ION from a combination of a placement and a preferential offer to unitholders. The private placement comprises 171,737,000 new units to institutional and other investors at an issue price of between $2.038 and $2.091 per unit, to raise $350.0 million. The preferential offer comprises 377.3 million new units at an issue price of $2.007 per unit, in the ratio of 56 preferential offering units for every 1,000 existing units held by eligible unitholders to raise $757.2 million.

Monetary Authority of Singapore Is Considering Simplifying REIT Debt Limits

The Monetary Authority of Singapore is doing consultations about simplifying the rules for REIT debt limits:

MAS proposes that a minimum ICR of 1.5 times apply to all REITs. Currently, the ICR requirement of 2.5 times is to be met only by REITs which intend to increase their aggregate leverage from 45% to 50%. To simplify the requirements, MAS proposes that a single aggregate leverage limit of 50% apply to all REITs going forward.

Keppel DC REIT Buys Into Tokyo Data Centre

Keppel DC REIT and its sponsor, Keppel, are jointly acquiring Tokyo Data Centre 1, in Tokyo, Japan:

The total purchase consideration of 23.4 billion yen (S$195.3 million) stands at a 2.5 per cent discount to the property’s valuation of 24 billion yen, said the Reit manager on Thursday (Jul 11).

The deal represents Keppel DC Reit’s first acquisition in Japan, which its manager’s chief executive, Loh Hwee Long, highlighted as one of the largest and fastest-growing data centre markets in Asia.

The Business Times: Singapore Needs Reforms to Revive Its Reits

The Business Times publishes an op-ed on fixing the laggard performance of Singapore's REITs:

The twin post-pandemic shocks – elevated interest rates, and a worldwide shift towards work from home – have damped investor sentiment. Some of the gloom may lift as the US Federal Reserve begins to ease monetary policy, but governance of Singapore Reits could hold back the much-anticipated recovery from reaching its full potential. That is why reforms must take centre stage.

Paragon REIT Selling The Rail Mall

Paragon REIT is announcing the divestment of The Rail Mall for a S$78.5 million consideration:

Proceeds from the divestment will be used to pare down outstanding debt obligations, finance potential acquisitions and asset-enhancement initiatives, and/or make distributions to unit holders, said the manager.

The Rail Mall, located in Upper Bukit Timah Road, has nearly 50,000 sq ft of net lettable area, and sits on a site sold by the state with a 99-year leasehold tenure from March 1947.

This leaves a balance of 21 years and eight months. The property was valued at $62 million as at Dec 31, 2023.

Mapletree Logistics Sells Chinese Warehouse

Mapletree Logistics Trust is announcing the sale of a warehouse in China:

The sale consideration is estimated to be RMB70.5 million ($13.1 million), 0.7% above the property’s valuation of RMB70 million as at March 31.

Comprising a single-storey warehouse with a four-storey office and a two-storey warehouse, Mapletree Xi’an Logistics Park has a building age of almost 20 years and a net lettable area of approximately 22,876 sq m.

CapitaLand Ascott Buys Remaining 10% Stake in South Carolina Property

CapitaLand Ascott Trust is acquiring the remaining 10% stake it didn't own in a student housing property for the University of South Carolina, US:

On June 4, its managers said they expect the acquisition to generate an earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) yield on total development costs of about 7 per cent.

ARA US Hospitality Manager Sold to Acrophyte AM

The manager of ARA US Hospitality REIT has been sold by ESR Group to Acrophyte Asset Management:

In the same announcement, ARA Real Estate Investors 23, held by ESR, has also entered into a sale and purchase agreement to divest its 19% stake of 110.2 million stapled securities in ARA US Hospitality Trust to Acrophyte Limited, an entity held by Tang Jialei and Tang Jialin.

Acrophyte Pte Ltd, which used to be called Chip Eng Seng Corp, has been appointed the new sponsor of ARA US Hospitality Trust.

Sponsor of Cromwell REIT Sells Entire Stake to Stoneweg Group

The sponsor of Cromwell REIT, Cromwell Property Group, has sold its entire stake of 27.79% to the Stoneweg Group for 280 million Euro:

CEREIT will remain listed on the Singapore Exchange and does not expect changes to its independent directors and management team.

Elite Commercial REIT Renamed to Elite UK REIT

With effect May 16, 2024, Elite Commercial REIT name is being changed to Elite UK REIT. SGX and Bloomberg ticker codes remain unchanged.