EC World REIT focuses on owning properties used primarily for e-commerce, supply-chain management and logistics in China. As of August 2019, the portfolio comprises eight quality properties located predominantly in the large e-commerce clusters in the Yangtze River Delta, Hangzhou, and Wuhan, China. Seven properties are located in Hangzhou, and one in Wuhan. The portfolio has an aggregate net lettable area of 960,461 sq m and a total appraised value of RMB7.8 billion which is equivalent to approximately $1.6 billion. It has been rated overall Centurion Club winner for the REITs sector. EC World REIT is also recognised for recording the fastest growth in profit after tax during the evaluation period, with a compounded annual growth rate of 36.7%.
Another China-focused REIT, Dasin Retail Trust, has been recognised for delivering the best returns to shareholders. While EC World REIT focuses on logistics, Dasin Retail Trust, as the name suggests, specialises in retail-related assets, which are mainly at the Greater Bay Area near Hong Kong and Macau. As at Dec 31, 2019, its portfolio consists of five retail malls host a tenant base of more than 500 local Chinese and international retailers. The malls are located in the cities of Zhongshan and Zhuhai in Guangdong, and are valued at around $1.8 billion in total. Earlier this year, Dasin Retail Trust ac- quired two malls: Shunde Metro Mall and Tanbei Metro Mall.
On a weighted return on equity basis, IREIT Global, which focuses on European real estate, has come out tops, with a score of 8.42 times over the evaluation period. The IREIT name might be relatively unfamiliar to many investors but its backers are top Singapore developer City Developments and Tikehau Capital, from France. IREIT Global’s portfolio consists of five freehold office properties in Germany and four freehold office properties in Spain, with a total attributable lettable area of around 273,000 sqm (2.9 million sq ft). This portfolio has a valuation of around EUR711.3 million ($1.13 billion).
