Staying focused on S'pore

WITH Singapore property firms all clamouring into overseas markets like Australia, it comes across as a little strange that AIMS AMP Capital Industrial Reit (AA Reit), which has Australian backers, would pull the brakes on expansion overseas to stay where it is - a Singapore-focused industrial property real estate investment trust.

But that is exactly what Koh Wee Lih, the chief executive of AA Reit's manager, thinks is best for the trust.

"We want to focus on Singapore because we think that ... the Singapore opportunities can probably deliver a higher accretion, a better return to the shareholders," said Mr Koh.

That said, AA Reit made the decision to snap up a 49 per cent stake in Optus Centre, a business park in Sydney, for A$184.4 million (S$…