FCT: Has not acquired Waterway Point stake, contrary to headline on SGX service

FRASERS Centrepoint Trust (FCT) has not acquired sponsor Frasers Property's one-third stake in suburban mall Waterway Point, the real estate investment trust's (Reit) manager said on Friday to refute a headline posted on the Singapore Exchange's (SGX) StockFacts online information service.

"The posting did not originate from the manager and the information in the posting is untrue," FCT's manager said in an announcement during the mid-day trading break.

StockFacts, a free online data portal offered by the SGX but run by S&P Capital IQ, had published a headline stating that FCT had "acquired one-third stake in Waterway Point from Frasers Centrepoint Limited" under a news widget, according to a screenshot provided by FCT.

FCT said that it had notified the SGX of the error. As at publication time, the StockFacts service was not available.

Frasers Centrepoint Ltd changed its name to Frasers Property on Jan 31 this year.

FCT shares were indicated at S$2.15 as at 12.40pm on Friday, down 1.8 per cent or four Singapore cents.

Despite FCT's refutation, analysts are widely expecting the trust to eventually acquire Frasers Property's stake in the mall in the Punggol residential town. Waterway Point was jointly developed with Far East Organization and Sekisui House.

In an October 2017 report, RHB Research identified acquisitions as a possible catalyst for FCT's stock.

"We believe Waterway Point, which is one-third owned by sponsor Frasers Centrepoint, is a good fit to its portfolio in the near term," RHB wrote.