Potential sale of Manulife US Reit’s manager to Mirae calls into question steadfastness of its sponsor

INVESTORS in Manulife US Real Estate Investment Trust (Manulife US Reit) might be feeling the jitters and wondering where the trust is headed. This is understandable.

The Reit manager on Dec 30, 2022 – the last trading day of the year – dragged the media and market analysts away from year-end festivities to deliver some sombre news.

At a press conference, called at short notice, the manager revealed that the Reit’s aggregate leverage had risen to about 49 per cent – just shy of the regulatory limit for Singapore-listed real estate investment trusts (S-Reits) – after a 10.9 per cent decline in its portfolio valuation.