With the opening of borders, a feature which was woefully absent two years ago is making a comeback. Yes, the tourists are coming. Never mind the inflation, interest rates and expensive plane tickets, there will always be a portion of people, dying to enact the “revenge of travel”, coming here (and the converse is true for our fellow citizens going out of here, by air, sea, and the causeways).
Now that the crowds (local and foreign) are coming back, let us look at our famous tourist barometer: the Orchard Road shopping belt (which I shall call it ORSB).
There are some variations as to where the ORSB lies, depending on one’s sources. For me, the ORSB starts from the junction of Tanglin Road/Napier Road junction to the border of Orchard Road and Bras Basah Road, which in building-wise, from Tanglin Mall to The Cathay. Also included in the area is from the junction of Orchard Road/Scotts Road to the Scotts Road/Stevens Road junction, ending at Goodwood Hotel.
We could sub-divide the ORSB into different sectors, namely:
Sectors
| Road (From) | Road (To) | Building (From) | Building (To) |
A | Tanglin Road / Napier Road Junction
| Orchard Road / Scotts Road Junction | Tanglin Mall | Wheelock Place / Shaw Centre |
B | Orchard Road / Scotts Road Junction
| Orchard Road / Bideford Road Junction | Ion Orchard / Tang Plaza | Mandarin Gallery / Apple Store Orchard |
C | Orchard Road / Bideford Road Junction
| Orchard Road / Buyong Road Junction | Mandarin Gallery / Apple Store Orchard | Concorde Hotel Singapore |
D | Orchard Road / Buyong Road Junction
| Orchard Road / Bras Basah Road | Plaza Singapura | The Cathay |
E | Orchard Road / Scotts Road Junction
| Scotts Road / Stevens Road Junction | Shaw Centre / Tang Plaza | Goodwood Park Hotel |
Putting it all together, this is how my ORSB looked like:
These sectors were derived based on my personal observations of and visits to the ORSB. Typically, a pedestrian/shopper would confine oneself to within the sector during a normal shopping/outing/dining session (up to 3 to 4 hours) before either heading to the next sector or returning to their homes/hotels. Also, sectors B, C and D were defined by the MRT stations that served them, which are Orchard, Somerset and Dhoby Ghaut, respectively.
The Retail REITs Along ORSB
For this post, I would emphasize on the retail REITs along the ORSB rather than the hospitality ones, as I assume the latter would benefit regardless of their location, i.e., “a rising (tourist) tide lifts all (hotel) boats”. I will highlight some of the numbers, plus some additional qualitative opinions and viewpoints of my own.
REIT | Sector Location | Property(ies) | Valuation of Property(ies) to the REIT | Net Property Income to the REIT
| Net Asset Value (SGD)1 | Dividend Yield1 | Gearing1 |
Starhill Global REIT
| B | Wisma Atria, Ngee Ann City | 67.7%2 | 59%2 | 0.78 | 6.581% | 36.1% |
SPH REIT | B | Paragon Shopping Centre
| 64%3 | 60.4%3 | 0.91 | 5.714% | 30.3% |
OUE Commercial REIT
| B/C | Mandarin Gallery | 8%4 | 9.8%4 | 2.37 | 6.821% | 35.4% |
Lendlease Global REIT
| C | 313@Somerset | 69.3%5 | 58.3%5 | 0.81 | 5.780% | 33.5% |
CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust
| D | Plaza Singapura, The Atrium@Orchard | 9.3%6 | NA6 | 2.06 | 4.685% | 37.2% |
From the numbers above, certain REITs are concentrated along the ORSB, like Starhill, Lendlease (figures shown here are before the acquisition of Jem) and SPH REIT. Thus, the locations of the ORSB malls for these REITs are very important, particularly when capturing footfall. Strategically located on or near MRT stations is a big plus. Having a good mix of tenants that suit the profile of people visiting them would have a multiplier effect in converting footfall into actual spend. For example, malls such as Paragon and Ngee Ann City housed a range of luxury brands that attracts consumers wanting to purchase such goods.
We should not underestimate the power of “spillovers”, where crowds would go to the next/nearest location for “added visits”. This spillover effect worked for Paragon, where visitors from the nearby Mount Elizabeth Hospital and Medical Centre would come over. Additionally, Paragon has a medical centre located above the mall, creating more value to itself in the Mount Elizabeth medical locale.
The ORSB is prominently featured in our tourist brochures and promotional media on visiting Singapore. As long as the tourist numbers continue along an upward trajectory in the coming years, and increased affluence of the local population, the heydays of ORSB would continue.
Note: SPH REIT is currently undergoing a chain offer by Cuscaden Peak7.
Disclosure
The Bedokian’s portfolio holds all the REITs mentioned indirectly via the Nikko AM-Straits Trading Asia ex Japan REIT ETF, and directly holds SPH REIT and Lendlease Global Commercial REIT.
1 – Data obtained from reitdata.com as of 3 June 2022.
2 – 3Q FY 2021/22 Business Updates. Starhill Global REIT. 28 Apr 2022. https://starhillglobalreit.listedcompany.com/newsroom/20220428_201657_P40U_9XG4X6QWB2N4BS1Z.1.pdf(accessed 3 Jun 2022). NPI is calculated based on 3Q FY21/22 figures.
3 – 1H FY2022 Financial Results. SPH REIT. 1 Apr 2022.https://sphreit.listedcompany.com/newsroom/20220401_180600_SK6U_YH2EUDHV8N5IXZSQ.3.pdf(accessed 3 Jun 2022). NPI is calculated based on 1H FY2022 figures.
4 – Business Update for 1st Quarter 2022. OUE Commercial REIT. 12 May 2022. https://investor.ouect.com/newsroom/20220512_181226_TS0U_2CHQ9N06QX6UU1C8.2.pdf (accessed 3 Jun 2022). Revenue By Property metric for 1Q 2022 is used instead for NPI figures.
5 – Lendlease Global Commercial REIT Annual Report FY2021. 1 Oct 2021. https://www.lendleaseglobalcommercialreit.com/-/media/asia/lendlease-global-commercial-reit/investor-relations/sgx-announcements/2021/lreit-ar2021-spreads.pdf (accessed 3 Jun 2022). Figures shown here are before the JEM acquisition. For valuation, Euro/SGD conversion used was 1.5894 being average for 2021 (exchangerates.org.uk).
6 – FY 2021 Financial Results. CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust. 28 Jan 2022. https://investor.cict.com.sg/newsroom/20220128_062055_C38U_AR9JN8WAR80SVR7X.3.pdf (accessed 3 Jun 2022). NPI figures reported were consolidated, hence unable to obtain individual numbers for Plaza Singapura and The Atrium@Orchard.
7 – Cuscaden Peak’s offer for SPH Reit turns unconditional. The Business Times. 2 Jun 2022. https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/cuscaden-peaks-offer-for-sph-reit-turns-unconditional (accessed 3 Jun 2022).
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