Retail, hotel, office S-Reits gain with relaxed Covid rules

SINGAPORE announced the easing of Covid-19 measures on March 24 as the country takes a "decisive but measured step forward" towards living with Covid-19.

With the risk of outdoor transmission significantly lower, it will soon be optional to wear masks outdoors in Singapore while the maximum group size for social gatherings as well as dining in will double from 5 to 10. Certain large-scale social gatherings are also permitted to resume.

Office spaces are expected to be filled up again, as up to 75 per cent of those who can work from home are now allowed to return to their workplaces, up from 50 per cent previously.

Cross-border travel is also expected to ease substantially from Apr 1, as travellers no longer have to take designated vaccinated travel lanes (VTL) to enter Singapore quarantine-free.

Such moves will help to "reconnect Singapore with the world" and "give a much-needed boost to businesses, particularly the tourism sector, and help Singapore reclaim its position as a business and aviation hub" said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong during his speech.

Following the announcement, the Straits Times Index (STI) gained 1.1 per cent during Thursday's (Mar 24) trading session, driven by a rally in aviation, transport, tourism and retail-related stocks.

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Similarly, S-Reits recorded gains, with the iEdge S-Reit Index increasing 1 per cent in the trading session, led by trusts with significant exposure to Singapore related retail, hospitality, and office assets.

Hospitality S-Reits gained 3.5 per cent while retail S-Reits gained 1.5 per cent. More notably, hospitality and retail S-Reits saw a surge in trading activities on Thursday with S$27.4 million and S$21.4 million in traded value respectively.

This represents over 211 per cent and 58 per cent increases respectively, against their 3-month average daily traded value.

Diversified S-Reits also gained an average of 1.8 per cent over Thursday, led by trusts (Lendlease Global Commercial Reit, JYEU OUE Commercial Reit TS0U and Suntec Reit T82U : T82U 0% ) with substantial exposure to the retail and office segments in Singapore.

Lendlease Global Commercial Reit (LReit), which owns prime retail properties in Singapore and grade-A office buildings in Milan, was the top performer for the day with over 7 per cent gains.

In February, LReit proposed to acquire the remaining interest in JEM mall for close to S$2 billion.

LReit expects the acquisition to further boost the Reit's portfolio income diversification and provide approximately 10.5 per cent distribution per unit (DPU) accretion upon completion.

Post-acquisition, LReit's exposure to the resilient suburban retail sector is expected to increase from 16.3 per cent to 46.8 per cent and its Singapore-centric asset base to be close to 88 per cent of its total portfolio value.

CDL Hospitality Trusts (CDLHT), J85 : J85 0% which owns hotel properties across the Asia-Pacific and Europe, rose 6 per cent over the trading day following the announcement of easing travel restrictions.

CDLHT's Singapore portfolio (approximately 64.9 per cent by total portfolio valuation) continued to be impacted by the absence of major meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions (MICE) events, large wedding banquets and social functions in FY 2021.

The trust remains optimistic in Singapore's commitment to reopening and returning to normalcy. SGX RESEARCH

For more research and information on Singapore's Reit sector, visit sgx.com/research-education/sectors for the monthly S-Reits & Property Trusts Chartbook.

Source: SGX Research S-Reits & Property Trusts Chartbook.