SINGAPORE (Apr 2): The move to have internalised managers for real estate investment trusts and business trusts just has not caught on in Singapore. Investors, analysts and investment bankers point to the one internalisation that took place in 2016 as a reason that investors are not keen. The process provides lessons for investors, REIT managers and regulators alike.
One swallow does not a summer make. Similarly, one example should not be used to make generalisations about a business model or strategy, cautions Eng Seat Moey, head of equity capital markets at DBS Group Holdings. In some cases, an internalised model is desired, she points out.
Eng was instrumental in kick-starting the REIT market in Singapore with the listing of CapitaLand Mall Trust (CMT) in 2002. Since then, she has brought some 40 REITs and business trusts to list here. Almost all of the $85 billion in market capitalisation of S-REITs can be attributed to Eng.
