Overseas data centre strategy to keep MIT humming

ANALYSTS have long attributed the trading premium enjoyed by Mapletree Industrial Trust (MIT) to its pure-play Singapore status since its listing in 2010. But going by the surge in its unit price since it broadened its investment mandate and added US data centres to its portfolio, it may suggest that investors have come around to the reality that there is only so much the Reit can grow within the city-state that continues to keep a watchful eye over industrial rents.

MIT's recent expansion into overseas data centres charts a necessary growth path. This is also a move underscored by prudence as MIT leverages the resources and network of its sponsor Mapletree Investments.

Last October, MIT jointly acquired a portfolio of 14 data centres in the US with its sponsor for US$783.4 million through a 40-60 joint venture, just a month after announcing an expansion of its investment mandate beyond Singapore. MIT units are still holding up by over 8 per cent above the closing price on Sept 26, the announcement date of its investment strategy expansion, despite February's market correction.