Mapletree Logistics Trust to focus on overseas markets for growth

I am sharing an article from channelnewsasia about the property market at Singapore. Oversea acquisition is good but it will largely increase your management cost and control. Can MLT management handles all this? So far, i have confident toward their management, have a joyful read.:)

SINGAPORE: Mapletree Logistics Trust will continue to cast its sights overseas for acquisitional growth in the coming financial year.

The trust indicated its plans to grow its portfolio in existing markets such as South Korea and Malaysia, and is exploring opportunities in new markets like Indonesia, Thailand and Australia.

With about 25 per cent market share of the logistics assets in Singapore, Mapletree Logistics Trust believes the domestic market is fairly mature with limited opportunities for a player of its size.

Instead, it is actively pursuing acquisition opportunities in emerging markets like Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand.

In Northeast Asia, the trust plans to shift its focus from Japan - where it has made several acquisitions over the past year - to South Korea.

The trust has also confirmed that it is looking for the right deal in Australia to come by.

Richard Lai, CEO, Mapletree Logistics Trust, said: "Australia is like Japan. A lot of the ownership tends to be institutionalised, and the ability to have scale makes a lot of sense. In the long run, we still think that a lot of the growth opportunities will come from the emerging markets, but it takes time to build scale in the emerging markets."

Most analysts are positive on the prospects of the logistics sector, with many giving Mapletree Logistics Trust a "buy" or "outperform" rating.

Tan Siew Ling, analyst, CIMB Research, said: "Within the industrials space, we are quite positive on logistics demand, especially in Asia. MLT is actually our top pick within the sector as well.

"We think that there is still growth potential - we think that yields in excess of seven per cent is still quite attractive. Stability is there, because their weighted average lease expiry is about six years."

Mapletree Logistics Trust's latest full year results saw its net property income grow by 12 per cent from last year to S$61.4 million.