Finding Wealth Through REITs

Bobby Jayaraman

In Asia, many still view real estate/properties as a ‘safe’ investment. Today, not only has this trend continued, it has also extended to the area of property-linked equities. And if you haven’t been under a rock or high up in the mountains for the past 15 years, you would have heard of this thing called a Real Estate Investment Trust, or a REIT.

Since 2002, when the first REIT – CapitaLand Mall Trust was listed on the Singapore Exchange (“SGX”), things have exploded. From Finding Wealth Through REITs, there were already 27 REITs listed on SGX with over a market capitalisation of over $40 billion (that’s with a B) back in 2011, and things have only gotten larger! In 2017, there were a total of 32 Singapore REITs (S-REITs), and together with 6 other stapled trusts (not the main point here), they totaled ...