I REFER to the report "Parkway Life Reit sells Japan nursing homes" (BT, Dec 27). In its announcement, the Reit manager says Parkway Life Reit has divested seven nursing homes for 7.95 billion yen (S$88.3 million) and that the sale price of these nursing homes is 28.1 per cent higher than the original purchase price.

This is a rather misleading statement as the returns were calculated based on yen terms that conveniently ignored the depreciation of the yen against the Singapore dollar over the years since the nursing homes were bought. It is likely for this reason that the announcement does not mention the purchase dates of the property.

Parkway's historical news releases reveal that the nursing homes were bought at different dates from 2009 to 2012. And if the relevant Sing dollar-Japanese yen exchange rates are used - as they should - the total cost of the seven homes is actually S$91.6 million, leading to a loss of S$3.3 million based on the sale price of S$88.3 million. The Japanese property appreciation in yen terms is merely an illusion for foreign investors once the massive yen depreciation against most major currencies is taken into account.