3 Blue-Chip Singapore REITs with Dividend Yields of Above 6%

What happened?

The REIT sector has gone through two years of tough times.

Earlier, we shared that Singapore REITs have largely performed worse than Singapore's benchmark index in 2024. 

This is largely due to higher interest rates which led to a decline in dividends for the REITs. 

I've seen some discussion in the Beansprout community about whether this creates opportunities for investors looking at holding Singapore REITs for dividend income, especially with the sharp fall in the Singapore T-bill yield.

For many REIT investors, the starting point when looking at the sector would be blue chip REITs with strong sponsors. 

In this post, I will be looking at three of these REITs that offer dividend yields of above 6%. 

Three blue-chip REITs with dividend yields above 6%

#1 – Mapletree Logistics Trust (SGX: M44U)

Mapletree Logistics Trust, or MLT, owns a portfolio of 183 properties spread across eight countries including Singapore, India, Japan, and China.

The REIT’s assets under management (AUM) stood at S$13.4 billion as of 31 December 2024.

The logistics REIT saw its unit price tumble by 25.7% in 2024 as a mixture of factors negatively impacted its net property income (NPI) and distribution per unit (DPU).

For the first nine months of fiscal 2025 (9M FY2025) ending 31 December 2024, MLT’s gross revenue dipped by 1% year on year to S$547.4 million.

NPI fell by 1.5% year on year to S$472.5 million as property expenses rose 2.2% year on year.

The manager attributed the weak performance to several factors – lower revenue contributions from China, the lack of contributions from properties that had been sold off, and weaker regional currencies against the Singapore Dollar.

Borrowing costs climbed 8.8% year on year to S$118.2 million, leading to a 10.2% year-on-year decline in the REIT’s DPU to S$0.06098.

On a more positive note, MLT maintained a high portfolio occupancy rate of 96.3% at the end of last year.

Portfolio rental reversion also turned positive at 3.4% after dipping to a negative value in the previous quarter (i.e. 2Q FY2025).

Finance costs also seem to be moderating, inching up by just 0.3% quarter-on-quarter to S$40 million.

MLT’s manager continues to engage in active capital recycling to unlock value and rejuvenate the REIT’s portfolio.

Year-to-date, the REIT announced a total of 13 divestments totalling S$201 million in Malaysia, Japan, China, and Singapore.

These properties have older specifications and have limited redevelopment potential, thus freeing up capital for reinvestment into assets with better growth potential.

MLT also has two ongoing strategic asset enhancements as shown below.

The redevelopment project at 51 Benoi Road should be completed by the first half of this calendar year, potentially adding organic rental growth to MLT’s portfolio.

The other project in Malaysia is slated for completion in the first half of calendar year 2028.

Based on the annualised DPU of S$0.0813, MLT’s units offer a forward distribution yield of 6.5%

Find out how much dividends you may receive as a shareholder of Mapletree Logistics Trust with the calculator below. 

Related links:

• Mapletree Logistics Trust share price history and share price target
• Mapletree Logistics Trust dividend history and dividend forecast

#2 – Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust (SGX: BUOU)

Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust, or FLCT, is an industrial and commercial REIT with a portfolio of 112 properties across five countries.

FLCT’s AUM stood at approximately S$6.8 billion as of 30 September 2024.

Like MLT, the REIT saw its unit price fall by 22.8% last year.

For its fiscal 2024 (FY2024) ending 30 September 2024, revenue and NPI increased by 6.2% and 2.7% year on year, respectively, to S$446.7 million and S$320 million.

However, DPU dipped by 3.4% year on year to S$0.068 as finance costs soared 40% year on year to S$65.7 million.

The better revenue performance was because of contributions from Ellesmere Port that was completed in December 2023 along with rental income flowing from the acquisition of four German properties in March 2024.

Hence, the main culprit for the weak share price performance was the bump in finance costs as FLCT drew down on its loan facility to fund developments and acquisitions.

Amidst the weakness in distributions, there is also some silver lining for FLCT. 

The REIT registered a solid positive rental reversion of 23.6% across its entire portfolio for FY2024.

FLCT’s aggregate leverage was low at 33%, giving the REIT a debt headroom of S$801 million before it reached the 40% gearing level.

This low gearing can spur the REIT manager to engage in more acquisitions and forward-funding development projects to help grow the REIT’s asset base and DPU.

The REIT completed two developments in the Netherlands and Australia in FY2024.

It also conducted a DPU-accretive acquisition of a prime logistics property in Singapore near the Tuas mega port.

These moves may help the REIT to steadily build up its asset base and rental income, potentially mitigating the headwinds arising from higher finance costs.

Based on FLCT DPU in FY2024 and its current share price of S$0.84, it offers a trailing distribution yield of 8.1%.

Find out how much dividends you may receive as a shareholder of Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust with the calculator below. 

Related links:

• Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust share price history and share price target
• Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust dividend history and dividend forecast

#3 – Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust (SGX: N2IU)

Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust, or MPACT, is a retail and commercial REIT with a portfolio of 17 properties spread across Singapore (4), Hong Kong (1), China (2), Japan (9), and South Korea (1).

MPACT’s portfolio was valued at S$15.7 billion as of 31 December 2024.

The REIT’s unit price tumbled 20% last year to end at S$1.23 as macroeconomic headwinds ate into distributable income and DPU.

Like FLCT and MLT, MPACT also reported a downbeat set of earnings, which may explain why its unit price declined by double-digits last year.

For 9M FY2025, gross revenue fell by 4.6% year on year to S$686 million, reflecting the absence of contributions from the recently divested Mapletree Anson along with foreign currency headwinds.

NPI fell by 5.7% year on year to S$514 million while DPU slid 8.3% year on year to S$0.0607.

MPACT maintained a portfolio occupancy of 90% and also registered an overall positive portfolio rental reversion of 4.6%.

MPACT's performance was negatively impacted by its assets in China, with properties there seeing occupancy fall to 84.3% from 89.6% a year ago,

Negative rental reversions continued with both Festival Walk and Chinese properties registering negative 7.2% and 2.9% rental reversions, respectively.

Tenant sales at Festival Walk dipped by 9.3% year on year because of outbound travel even though shopper traffic increased by 3% year on year.

At the same time, its Japan properties show weak performance with negative rental reversions and a sharp drop in occupancy. A major tenant, Fujitsu, plans not to renew its lease on one key property by March 2026, leading to concerns over future occupancy.

Looking ahead, the management of MPACT is looking to mitigate the impact of weakness in its overseas assets with asset enhancement initiative (AEI) at VivoCity. 

The iconic mall is undergoing a phased upgrade for its Basement 2 level.

Phase 1 is completed and saw an increase in the number of food kiosks from 21 to 24.

Phase 2 is underway and should result in an additional 14,000 square feet of net lettable area which should lead to organic rental income growth.

MPACT expects a 10% return on investment with the AEI scheduled for completion by the end of 2025.

The annualised DPU of S$0.0809 means that MPACT’s units offer a forward distribution yield of 6.8%.

Find out how much dividends you may receive as a shareholder of Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust with the calculator below. 

Related links:

• Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust share price history and share price target
• Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust dividend history and dividend forecast

What would Beansprout do?

The 3 REITs above suffered a double-digit share price decline last year because of negative sentiment towards the REIT sector amid falling dividends.

While these REITs are backed by strong sponsors in Mapletree Investments Pte Ltd and Frasers Property Limited, each of them face headwinds from either worsening performance of their assets or higher finance costs. 

The lingering pessimism meant that unit prices remained depressed, thus pushing distribution yields to above 6%. 

In the meantime, the REIT managers are looking to mitigate these headwinds with acquisitions, capital recycling and AEIs. 

Across the three REITs, Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust offers the highest dividend yield of 8.1%, above the dividend yield of 6.5% for Mapletree Logistics Trust and dividend yield of 6.8% for Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust. 

Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust is trading at the lowest price-to-book ratio of 0.7x, below its historical average of 0.8x and sector average of 1.0x. 

Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust also trades at a fairly low price-to-book ratio of 0.74x, below its historical average of 0.84x. 

For investors looking for blue-chip REITs trading at depressed valuations, it might be worth adding these REITs to your watchlist. 

To screen for Singapore REITs with lowest price-to-book valuation or highest dividend yield, check out our best Singapore REIT screener. 

If you are new to investing in Singapore REITs, learn more about income opportunities from Singapore REITs here. 

Related links:

• Mapletree Logistics Trust share price and share price target
• Frasers Logistics & Commercial Trust share price and share price target
• Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust share price and share price target

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