FLCT banks on scale, industrial sector strength

Aside from post-merger enlargement and an expanded investment mandate, fund-throughs and rentals are also potential opportunities for growth. BY JUDE CHAN

Jude Chan

Published Mon, Jan 17, 2022 · 05:50 AM

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Singapore

UNDERTAKING major corporate action in the thick of "the crisis of a generation" could easily be disastrous. But, for Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust (FLCT), it has been a blessing in disguise.

The S$1.6 billion merger between Frasers Logistics & Industrial Trust (FLT) and Frasers Commercial Trust to create FLCT was mooted in early December 2019 and completed in mid-April 2020 - just as the Covid-19 pandemic forced countries around the globe into lockdowns.

But the manager of the enlarged real estate investment trust (Reit) believes the scale from the merger and the expansion of its investment mandate may have helped FLCT thrive in spite of the pandemic.

"Diversification is a benefit, particularly when you're going through challenging periods like a pandemic," said Robert Wallace, chief executive officer of FLCT's manager. "Our mandate has now expanded… and that has enabled us to grow and acquire assets that we weren…