MapletreeLog expects tougher year ahead

Singapore

MAPLETREE Logistics Trust, which on Monday released its fiscal second-quarter results, said it expects to face some headwinds in its Singapore portfolio over the next 12 months amid a more challenging leasing environment with tighter regulatory restrictions on the use of industrial space.

These restrictions include the ruling that the main occupier of a JTC site can only lease out at most 30 per cent of the building space to non-anchor subtenants, up from 50 per cent previously. This takes effect in October. Ng Kiat, CEO of Mapletree Logistics Trust Management, said: "On the operational front, we expect to face some headwinds in our Singapore portfolio over the next 12 months as more properties are expected to be converted from single-tenanted buildings to multi-tenanted buildings. We will continue to focus on tenant-repositioning and retention."