Jonathan Quek, Co-Head of Asean Banking, Capital Markets and Advisory, Co-Head of Asia Pacific Real Estate and Lodging, Citigroup Global Markets Singapore, and vice-president of REITAS, points out that S-REITs punch above their weight.
To celebrate 20 years of S-REITs, an event organized by REITAS and the Singapore Exchange held on Sept 1 started off with a couple of speeches, first by Loh Boon Chye, CEO, SGX, followed by Low Chee Wah, CEO, Frasers Property Retail, and President of REITAS. A lion dance, photo taking and camaraderie among sponsors, REIT managers, investment bankers and industry participants rounded off the celebration.
During a media briefing after the ceremony with some members of the executive committee (Exco) of REITAS, Low says he believes that S-REITs will be able to weather the current bout of interest rate hikes and inflation. “There are headwinds now but the REIT market has weathered these headwinds before. We had SARS (in 2003), the Global Financial Crisis (2008-2009), and Covid. Over this period, the REIT sector has continued to be resilient. As long as REITs remain well-capitalised, we should be able to see through whatever bumps that are facing us,” Low says.
