DPU rises (but not really)
No thanks Australia
The TLDR version is that DPU went up by 6.5% (which is respectable) but the actual DPU received in SGD went down by 1.1% due to unfavorable AUD/SGD exchange rates.
The impact was slightly mitigated by currency hedging.
Spot rate (28 Jan): AUD/SGD: 0.97102 (source* OANDA)
Hedged rate (1Q19) AUD/SGD: 0.982
The hedged rate is still slightly better than the live rate.
AUD is at historical low
Over the last 15 years, the AUD only went below parity with the SGD for a short period of time during the 2008/09 GFC and recorded its lowest at 0.93 SGD.
The AUD has steadily lost value since Jan 2018 (1.057). I do not believe that the AU economy is in such bad shape that the value of its currency would drop to GFC levels. One must also remember Australia is an export economy, and is highly dependent on tourism. A lower...