Suntec REIT Sees Solid Occupancy For Its Singapore Office Bldgs
SINGAPORE – As of the end of December 2021, Suntec REIT’s three office buildings in the city-state recorded an overall occupancy rate of 97.5 percent, exceeding the 93.3 percent average occupancy of office buildings in Singapore’s core central business district (CBD) as per CBRE data, according to local bourse filings published on Wednesday morning (26 January, SGT).
Amongst Suntec REIT’s office assets in Singapore, One Raffles Quay posted the highest occupancy rate of 98.5 percent, followed by MBFC Towers 1 & 2 (97.3 percent) and Suntec City Office (97.2 percent).
For the whole of 2021, the trust witnessed a positive rent reversion of 3.2 percent for its office properties. During the period, the entity also leased out 719,600 sq ft of office space. 39 percent or 280,900 sq ft comprised new leases, while 61 percent or 438,700 sq ft were made up of renewals.
By sector, technology, media, and telecommunications accounted for most of the new tenants at 31 percent. This is followed by banking, insurance, and financial services (20 percent), as well as manufacturing & distribution (10 percent).
“The business outlook is expected to improve in tandem with economic recovery with demand driven mainly by the Technology and Financial Services sectors. Income contribution from the Singapore office portfolio is expected to increase, driven by cumulative positive rent reversions achieved in the past 14 quarters and full impact of revenue from leases committed in 2021. However, high expiry rents across the portfolio may result in weak positive rent reversion,” stated Suntec REIT.
The Singapore-listed real estate investment trust (REIT) also revealed that its office portfolio in Singapore, Australia, and the UK remained resilient, providing stable income to unitholders.
“Suntec REIT unitholders will continue to benefit from the income resilience of its asset portfolio, enhanced by its geographical diversification with quality office assets in Australia and the United Kingdom. The manager will also continue to strengthen its balance sheet through active capital management,” added Chong Kee Hiong, CEO of Suntec REIT’s manager, ARA Trust Management (Suntec) Ltd.
