EVERY third dollar changing hands on Singapore Exchange Ltd is because of someone buying or selling units in a real estate investment trust (REIT). But has the city’s REIT mania gone a bit too far?
The Covid-19 pandemic has raised hard questions that have only simmered under the surface until now.
As an asset class, REITs have blossomed in the Asian financial center, where land is in short supply but money is abundant.
Singaporeans love property, and the idea of owning units in a trust that passes at least 90% of rental income to investors has always seemed like a better alternative to parking cash in a bank account, especially in an era of near-zero interest rates.
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