Restructuring Reits

SINGAPORE has a young but very successful Reit market. Thirty-three Reits are listed with a total market capitalisation exceeding S$61 billion. Generally, they have outperformed other stocks and bonds. Notwithstanding that, given the fast- changing landscape in the regional Reit industry, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has issued a consultation paper that proposes to enhance Reit regulations to "instill greater investor confidence and sustain trust and growth".

The proposed changes have wide ranging implications on corporate governance, alignment of interests, remuneration, operations, equity/ debt classifications, and disclosures.

No doubt, key players are providing their feedback to MAS on the proposed measures. SID, together with the Asia Pacific Real Estate Association (APREA), conducted a joint roundtable on the MAS consultation p…