Top three S-REITs averaged total return of 50% YTD

Ascendas India Trust leads the pack with a total return of 52.7%.

The three best-performing listed S-REITs have clocked an average total return of 51.4% YTD, SGX Research revealed. It brought its three-year and five-year total returns to 81.5% and 93.1% respectively, although the five-year total return data does not apply to Keppel DC REIT as it listed in December 2014.

Ascendas India Trust leads the pack with a YTD total return of 52.7%, followed by Keppel DC REIT at 51.6% and Ascendas Hospitality Trust at 50% YTD.

Ascendas India Trust’s total returns skyrocketed on the back of a robust 99% occupancy as of 30 September and continually expanding portfolio. In particular, SGX noted that Ascendas is focused on expanding across the IT Park and Logistics sector, and recently entered into a purchase agreement for Blueridge 3 in Pune and a 7th warehouse in Mumbai, as noted by SGX Research.

Meanwhile, Keppel DC REIT’s total returns stayed strong despite its revenue and profits dropping in Q2 [link story]. Its exposure to data market is said to have become an advantage as the market remained stable, supported by ongoing digitalisation and cloud deployments. In particular, SGX added. Improved connectivity, as well as the development and adoption of new technologies, will continue to drive growth of data creation, and fuel demand for data storage requirements in key data centre hubs globally.

Lastly, Ascendas Hospitality Trust will likely continue to see gains as demand for hotels in Australia is expected to grow amidst improving international and domestic arrivals in the region. Its Japan portfolio is also projected to benefit from the upcoming 2020 Olympics, although Osaka may face weaknesses due to fewer South Korean travellers amidst the ongoing tensions between the two countries.

In YTD, the 36 firms are included in the iEdge S-REIT Index, generating a total return of 24.9%. This is compared with a total return of 18.9% for the FTSE EPRA NAREIT Asia ex-Japan REITs Index and with the of 10.3% and 11.6% for the benchmark STI and broader FTSE ST All-Share Index, respectively.