Ascott Reit sees drop in bookings from Wuhan virus, has limited exposure to China

Singapore

ASCOTT Residence Trust (ART) expects a short-term impact on its portfolio, with global travel reduced as a result of the novel coronavirus situation, and it has already seen some cancellations in bookings and a drop in forward bookings since the start of this year.

But the chief executive of the Reit manager Beh Siew Kim stressed at its results briefing on Thursday that the Reit has a diversified portfolio, so it will be able to ride through the short-term pain, even as it stands to gain from the medium- to long-term trends of increased business travel.