Continuing interest in S-REITs.

We might have heard people saying "low can go lower and high can go higher" and if we have been an investor for a while, we would know that this is indeed the case.

S-REITs' performance in recent times has been nothing short of stellar. I will admit that I am turning cautious on S-REITs and I have said as much in an earlier blog post:

Never lose money in real estate and REITs?

In that blog post, I said I had turned cautious on S-REITs but I had not turned negative on them. This has not changed.

Conditions remain benign for S-REITs and as long as they stay this way, S-REITs will continue to be attractive to yield hungry investors. Money will always go to where it is treated best.

But while Singapore-listed REITs may seem expensive after a rally over the past year or so, they aren’t when compared with equities and bonds, says Tim Gibson, head of Asian property equities at Henderson Global Investors, which manages US$106.7 billion.

REITs are generally required to pay out much of the income from their underlying properties as dividends. Gibson says S-REITs offer the highest yields, both on an absolute basis and compared with the country’s five-year government bonds.

The yield on the FTSE ST REIT Index is around 5.17 percent, while the five-year Singapore bond yields around 0.5 percent and the Straits Times Index’s (STI) dividend yield is around 2.8 percent.

“As long as interest rates remain under control, S-REITs are in the sweet spot to continue their strong performance,” Gibson says.

Henderson’s new Global Property Income Fund will invest around 25 percent of its assets in Singapore-listed REITs.

Source: Dow Jones Newswire.

U.S. Investors are rediscovering their appetite for foreign real estate... putting more money into overseas funds that invest in offices, malls and apartment complexes than they have in six years.

New Jersey's pension fund recently invested US$500 million in a new US$4 billion real estate portfolio that Blackstone Group is raising for real estate investment in Asia.

Commercial real estate provides diversification away from stocks and bonds, and boost income while reducing overall risk because it acts differently than stocks and bonds over time.

Foreign REITs that own top-notch property in many parts of the world tend to be cheaper than those in the U.S.

REITs usually trade at premiums to the value of the real estate they own because investors are willing to pay for the liquidity that REITs offer, and because the value that many REIT management teams can create through acquisitions, developments and superior operations.

Source: Reuters.

Could S-REITs see their unit prices climbing higher? Well, if the reports are to be believed and if S-REITs are viewed as being more attractive investments than REITs in other countries, we could see their unit prices going to a level where distribution yields are much lower than they are now.

Some readers might remember that I mentioned Saizen REIT is relatively inexpensive compared to residential properties J-REITs and, not too long ago, Mr. Market woke up to this fact. Even so, the REIT, at 20c per unit, is still trading at a discount of about 20% to its NAV.

Although I reduced my overall investment in S-REITs last year as I moved resources to certain undervalued stocks, S-REITs remain a big part of my portfolio as I enjoy the relatively high distribution yields they generate for me.

Related posts:
1. Saizen REIT: A brief break through.
2. AIMS AMP Capital Industrial REIT: Making money.
3. 2012 full year passive income from S-REITs.

HPH Trust: Storm clouds over a safe harbour?

The last time I blogged about HPH Trust was in August 2011 or almost two years ago. I was not really keen on the Trust primarily because I felt that the distribution yield was not high enough compared to the alternative investments available.

Now, I think all of us must have read or heard of the strike by port workers that is going on in Hong Kong. It has been going on for a month or so by now. There doesn't seem to be an end in sight.

I was told by a friend in Hong Kong that she sympathises with these workers because apparently their salaries are kept really low to help the port operations keep cost levels almost unchanged in the last 10 years! That is truly amazing.

I thought she could be exaggerating but reading the weekend edition of The Business Times this morning gave her account credence. Ideally, a raise of some meaningful magnitude has to be given.

The port workers are asking for a 20% increase in salary but have been offered only 7%. This explains the gridlock.

The strike is costing the port millions in losses every day and if the port were to give in to the request for a 20% increase in salary, unit holders of HPH Trust could see DPU reduce some 5 to 7%.

Honestly, if I were a unit holder of HPH Trust, I would vote to give these workers the raise they are asking for even if it means having less income distributions for myself. 10 years without a raise is pretty bad.

Then, the question of whether HPH Trust is a good investment comes to mind again. Why would Li Ka Shing spin off his port assets? He is a savvy businessman, an old ginger. If a business is very lucrative and growing, why would he list it?

Well, some might sell a fantastic asset because they need money but definitely not Li Ka Shing. So, why?

In the article today, it was reported that Hutchison's market share of Hong Kong port operations has grown to 53% by 2012 although container volume has been shrinking.

"The port has been in a slow decline despite the double digit growth in China's trade over the last decade; falling victim to competition from Chinese ports and Singapore. The fast-rising costs of living at home in recent years could worsen the crunch. Last year, total throughput volume decreased by 5.3% year on year."
The Business Times, 27 April 2013.

This seems like a business that is fiercely competitive and HPH was already losing out to competition even before the strike by port workers. Could things get any worse?

At US$1.01 a unit, the IPO of HPH Trust was definitely a good deal for the issuer.
Added (1 Feb 17):

http://www.hphtrust.com/distribution.html

Related posts:
1. HPH Trust: Interim Financial Results.
2. HPH Trust: A weak debut.