Trump and Iran Need To Sit Down To Talk And Stop The Senseless Fighting and Blockage of Hormuz.

Donald Trump act blur again. How can a ceasefire not include his best friend from Israel which just intensified its bombing on Lebanon? Iran also desperate until it decides to weaponize the Straits of Hormuz against the whole world to exert pressure on the Global Economies. Totally no respect for the Law of the Sea for international navigation through straits. Now it even wants to blackmail countries into paying toll for safe passage through the Straits of Hormuz. How is this different from piracy?

US and Israel started this war and are now finding it extremely painful to end it. Makes one wonder what are their real military objectives in the first place? Iran is still shooting ballistic missiles and launching drones non-stop at everybody- they seemed to have an endless supply of them hidden deep underground. Many ordinary folks in Iran and Lebanon have been killed in this war, it is time to end the violence and senseless bloodshed. Donald Trump need to wake up and stop his Art of the Deal nonsense and negotiate a peace settlement in good faith.

Personally, I think that Trump had already TACO on this painful war that is going to make his life extremely miserable once his Republican party lose big during the upcoming mid-term election. Nevertheless, US not continuing the war does not mean that this war is over since the Straits of Hormuz is now being used by the Iranians to restrict the amount of oil that gets out. For local holding onto SREITs, the rally from Q4 2025 is gone and now back to square one. Interest rates will also start to rise again as evident from recent hints given by the US Federal Reserve folks.  

Capitaland Ascendas Rights Issuance Via CDP Account Instead of ATM.

With the 2 weeks ceasefire just announced between US and Iran and the Capitaland Ascendas REIT ("CLAR") rights issuance price of S$2.35 per unit against market price of S$2.57 per unit as at April 8, 2026 (Wednesday), this is an immediate capital gain of S$0.22 per unit or +9.36%. I thought that it is a no-brainer that everyone will rush in to subscribe for their allotment. Looks like getting excess units will be extremely challenging. 

1. Personal Thoughts On Buy Or Skipped Rights Issuance?

Please read my previous post here: 

Capitaland Ascendas REIT Rights Issuance in Midst of US-Iran War-Subscribe Or Wait?

2. Use CDP Investor Portal To Purchase Instead of Via ATM

This is my first time using the CDP Investor Portal for purchase and I decided to try it for the convenience since it means one does not need to walk to the nearest ATM machine anymore. I noticed that the CDP instruction guidance on the instruction booklet and CDP website is neither user friendly nor intuitive. I will do a quick walkthrough here in this section:   

2.1 Go to https://investors.sgx.com/

2.2 Next, scroll down to find "Today's Highlight" section and therafter "Corporate Action Submission"

2.3 Click on "View full list" if you cannot see Capitaland Ascendas

2.4 Click on Capitaland Ascendas

2.5 Now you will see the Corporate Actions Form Submission for Capitaland Ascendas REIT

2.6 Scroll to bottom to click on "Proceed to log in" using Singpass

Thereafter, just follow the instruction to key in the total number of units (Allotted Plus Excess) and presto, the QR code for PayNow will appear for your payment using your banking App. 

Parting Thoughts

The management of Lendlease Global Commercial REIT must be very upset at their tragic and unfortunate twist of fate during their just recent rights issuance exercise that only has 62.2% subscription. Looks like the rights issuance exercise of CLAR will be hotcake with more than 100% excess being subscribed. 

Donald Trump Unhinged Lunatic- The Opening of Straits of Hormuz Deadline Or Destruction of Iran?

What a week it had been! Iran shot down a US F-15 fighter jet and then there was the subseqent dramatic rescue of the downed aircrew by US Commandos deep in Iran's territory. Strangely, Trump and his Secretary of War (formerly Secretary of Defense before the renaming of this post) have terminated a number of US generals in the midst of the war with Iran. Rumour has it that these were the generals that were against the ground offensive initiative by Trump and Pete Hegseth. In the meantime the vital oil channel, the Straits of Hormuz remains shut off with Iran only allowing a few ships to pass through it. 

Deadline up to Tuesday for Straits of Hormuz to Reopen.

Trump's gave new deadlines (yes, keep repeating the same thingy) for the opening of Straits of Hormuz for Monday (6th April) and then now Tuesday (7th April) else the US will unleash hell on Iran. Trump  had told Iran to “open the f***in’ Strait” or face “living in hell” in an extraordinary swear-laden rant on Sunday.

But, I don't think the Iranians will budge. In fact, the Iranians have stated that they will only consider stopping the war if there is a change in regime in US, that is, a government without Donald Trump before they will negotiate.

European Union and Other Allies Cutting Deal With Iran Without US

Macron, the president of France, has made a good speech recently.  He said that countries should avoid dependence on China's “dominance” and exposure to what he called the “unpredictability” of the United States.

In the meantime, many countries have been cutting deals with Iran to allow some of their ships to pass through unharmed in the Straits of Hormuz.

Additionally, UK has convened a meeting of over 40 countries from every continent of the world, as well as key international organisations including the International Maritime Organisation and the European Union regarding the Straits of Hormuz closure by Iran. The key points being discussed:

(a) Increase international diplomatic pressure, including through the UN, to send clear and co-ordinated messages to Iran to permit unimpeded transit passage through the Strait of Hormuz and to comprehensively reject the imposition of tolls on vessels which seek to pass through.

(b) Explore co-ordinated economic and political measures, such as sanctions, to bear down on Iran if the Strait remains closed.

(c) Work together with the International Maritime Organisation to secure the release of thousands of ships and sailors trapped in the Strait and get shipping moving again.

(d) Joint arrangements to support greater market and operational confidence. This includes working with shipping operators and industry bodies to ensure coherent and timely information sharing.

Parting Thoughts- Investing During War Time

I think that there are signs of improvement in the global oil disruption from the closure of the Straits of Hormuz by Iran with many countries starting to kick off solutions discussion. As such I will be making some additional investment into equities this week. Saying that, no one knows exactly what the unhinged Donald Trump will do next and global markets may crash further. Good to keep some dry powder in such an event. Ok, that's all from me today. Have great week ahead!

Donald Trump Going For Ground Invasion Of Iran To Intimidate Submission.

Wow, Donald Trump has done it again with the activation of troops such as the elitie US 82nd Airborne division. I don't think Trump will be silly enough to invade the entire Iran as the soldiers needed to take-over a 90 million population will be too massive. Also, Iran is protected by the Zagros Mountains to the west and Elburz Mountains to the north, with massive central deserts creating a virtually impassable barrier. Instead, Trump maybe tempted to take-over the Kharg Island from Iran whereby 90% of Iran's oil exports pass through it. Kharg island sits offshore with waters deep enough to load product onto tankers known as Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs), which can hold around two million barrels. This will be a strategic move to choke off Iran's oil revenue by cutting off its oil exports in order to pressurise the government of Iran to accede to US demands such as opening the Straits of Hormuz for ships and tankers to pass through.

Anyway, if boots on the ground were indeed deployed by Trump, it heightens the chance of mass casualties and may just sink his remaining presidency term into oblivion. There are already "No Kings" protests & rallies in US. Global stocks also continue their free fall which will certainly worsen once news breakout of the ground invasion.  

In the meantime, oil prices continue to shoot past US$100 per barrel while Donald Trump continues to negotiate "directly and indirectly" (whatever that means) with himself, I mean Iran. 

Capitaland Ascendas REIT Rights Issuance in Midst of US-Iran War-Subscribe Or Wait?

I nearly fainted when I read that there is another upcoming rights issuance exercise from another SREIT that I have held onto for many years, that is, Capitaland Ascendas ("CLAR"). This is coming off from the disastrous rights issuance exercise by Lendlease Global Commercial REIT (LREIT") with only a pathetic 62.2% take up rate. LREIT was thus heavily undersubscribed and the joint underwriters, DBS and friends, were forced to fork out S$74.3mil to take up the excess units that nobody wanted. Now, we have CLAR coming along to join in the fun during the midst of the US-Iran Middle East war. I would say that the timing is awful but then, CLAR is in a better state than LREIT as it is a giant REIT with 222 investment properties as at 31 December 2025 while LREIT on the other hand has only 4 investment properties or 5 if you count in its minor stake in Parkway Parade. To put it simply, CLAR is a very well run government linked blue chip REIT that can weather any storms relative to the smaller REITs. 

1. Should One Subscribe for CLAR?

Personally, I think that the price of CLAR has been quite stable and hovering around the S$2.50 per unit level since its announcement of the rights issuance. This is testament to the strength of CLAR in the eyes of general investors. So, I guess it is a no brainer to subscribe for one's own allotment to prevent dilution. 

The new investment properties to be purchased are also of good quality in particularly, the one at Singapore Loyang. Interestingly, Toll Logistics Group is planning to offload their famous Loyang Off-Shore Supply base to CLAR via a long term 12 years triple net sales-and lease-back agreement. If I recalled correctly, Toll Logistics Group ultimate owner is Japan Post Holding hence the quality of rental income from this distinctive tenant is top-notch.  

Toll Offshore Petroleum Services (TOPS) at Loyang

As for excess subscription, it really boils down to how the Middle East war will turn out over the next one week to judge market sentiment and downside risk. 

2. Key Information Highlights- Retail Investors Rights Issuance Tranche.

In connection with the Preferential Offering, the Manager intends to issue Preferential Offering Units to Eligible Depositors (as defined herein) and Eligible QIBs (as defined herein (collectively, the “Eligible Unitholders”) on a pro rata basis in respect of their existing Units (the “Existing Units”) held as at 5.00 p.m. on 1 April 2026, being the record date in relation to the Advanced Distribution and the Preferential Offering entitlement (the “Record Date”). 

The allotment ratio for the Preferential Offering will be announced by the Manager via SG XNET (pls post the link to this post for those who already saw the announcement released-updated March 31, 2026- 28 Units for every 1,000 units). 

As for the Preferential Offering Issue Price, it has been determined to be at the lower end of S$2.35 per unit.

As at March 30, 2026

As at March 31, 2026

3. Indicative Timeline of Key Events:

Rights application will open on 9am of 7 April 2026 (Tuesday) and end by 5.30 pm of 15 April 2026 (Wednesday). 

Parting Thoughts

I like the new investment properties such as data centre in Japan as well as good quality master tenant from 25 Loyang Crescent that forms the basis of this rights issuance exercise. I will most probably be taking up excess rights on top of my normal allotment.

Donald Trump's Art of the Deal- Using Lies To De-escalate the US-Iran War.

Trump says Iran and US ‘want to make a deal’ but Tehran says claims of talks are ‘fake news’. To be honest, we have to give credit to Donald Trump for making such bold statement of "good talk with Iran" which buys global stock markets and energy prices time from persistent unfavourable pricing movement. Also, by postponing attacks on Iran's energy infrastructure, Trump can then extend another postponement of attacks on Iran which then gradually transit to total freeze of military action. This also saves his face....so I guess this is a smart move. We have seen him using such techniques in his tariff war against many countries previously. 

So guess the essence to the Donald Trump "Art of the Deal" is to make statements that are false in order to serve one's own agenda and self-interest? Not all world leaders have such thick skin to practice the Art of the Deal. 

Asian stock markets should rally today but the volatility is not over. So be careful folks! 

Donald Trump Blackmailing Iran With Opening of the Straits of Hormuz Or A Strike On Its Power Plants.

I am not sure whether Donald Trump is in the right frame of mind over his latest ultimatum to Iran to reopen the Straits of Hormuz within 48 hours or to face direct air strike of its power plants. I guess Iran will just simply fired ballistics missiles in retaliation at the power plant of all neighbouring gulf countries. What ever happened to the potential candidate for Nobel Prize for World Peace? With macho ego at stake, it looks like the Iran-US war is going to drag on for quite some time. 

Keppel Pacific Oak US REIT Market Price Collapse- Retail Investors Beware!

I know that there is the US Iran War which is creating chaos in global stock markets. But the sudden collapse of Keppel Pacific Oak US REIT ("KORE") from US$0.235 per unit a month ago to US$0.182 per unit as of 19 March 2026 is more than the overall correction in REITs market pricing. The sudden huge decline of <-23%> over the past 1 month is appalling. There seems to be a lack of information with regard to the sudden decline and I could not find any useful announcement released by KORE on SGX.

Online search for recent news relating to KORE that may have an adverse impact on its market price.

A quick search online unveiled the following event that may explain the rationale for the substantial decline in market pricing:

(i) Potential sale by a major unitholder. This is the most important factor right now. A substantial unitholder — Pacific Oak Strategic Opportunity REIT (around 6.1% stake) — is planning to liquidate its assets, which includes its KORE units due to excessive high borrowings that need to be repaid to bankers.

(ii) The management of Pacific Oak Strategic Opportunity REIT has explicitly said they expect a “substantial – if not complete – sale” of these units

(iii) Even if the sale hasn’t fully happened yet, market seems to be pricing in the expected surge in supply of units being put up for sales in the open market. This stake is likely to be sold via block trades or market sales, creating an “overhang” on price. In addition, traders seems to be front-run the selling thus creating persistent downward pressure

Parting Thoughts

It has been very painful holding on to KORE especially for many existing retail investors like myself. While the market price is way below the Net Asset Value per unit, the question is how reliable is the valuation of the current fair value by valuers of KORE with regard to its investment properties. Are there any other skeleton in the closet that retail investors are unaware of? 

For folks still holding on to KORE, what are your thoughts? Will you all hold on to your existing units or buy more with units with the dip? Or is KORE dying and time to bite the bullet?

The Donald Trump Madness- Attack Iran And Now Wants Allies and Other Nations To Clean His Backside.

What a mess the US war on Iran has become. Donald Trump attacked Iran without consulting its European and Asia Pacific Allies but now demand its allies to send warships to keep the Straits of Hormuz open to oil tankers and container ships. Trump is now furious with allies who rebuffed his call for help to secure the Straits of Hormuz. Personally, I thought it is strange that the mighty US seems to have miscalculated on Iran's willingness to weaponize the Straits of Hormuz. Perhaps US thought that by destroying the Navy of Iran, it would effectively remove the Iranian hold over the Straits of Hormuz. 

Donald Trump has now pulled in its allies into its never-ending war. The Europeans may have no choice but to help US clean up its backside lest Donald Trump threaten to end the defence pact under NATO. 

Let's hope the middle east conflict de-escalate soon before the whole world sank into global economic recession. It will interesting to see whether Singapore property market crash. 

Purchases During Recent Market Turmoil in Midst Of Donald Trump's War Against Iran.

Hi Folks, this post is more for my personal update & tracking of my own investment during the recent oil crisis sparked off by Donald Trump's war against Iran. Some said that Trump's war against Iran is more of a diversion tactic from his own domestic home base away from the Epstein fiasco and his involvement. From Trump's perspective, he is waging a righteous war to prevent Iran from further enrichment of uranium for building a nuclear bomb that will mean the end of the world. Nevertheless, no matter what is the rationale for igniting the fire of war, it has lead to global devastating consequences with oil price shooting through the roof by almost 100% relative to pre-war oil prices.

1. Investments and Accumulation (Cash + CPF deployment)

During the past week of market turmoil, I have executed the following purchases:

(i) Alibaba (HK 9988)- AI fallout and also fear of intensifying e-Commerce competition led to Alibaba stocks falling from over HKD185 per share in October 2025 to under HKD130 per share which is a close to 30% decline in its share price. I remain optimistic in Alibaba's fast growing cloud business. Bought more Alibaba shares at HKD130 per share and around S$6.5K;

(ii) Lendlease Global Commercial REIT (SGX-JYEU)- Unfortunately, prices did not drop further with substantial discount price to its rights issuance exercise of S$0.558 per unit. It continued to hover around S$0.555 to S$0.560 per unit. Since most of my investments are not held under discount broker like Tiger/Moo Moo, I decided to just save on the brokerage cost by subscribing for the rights under my Maybank Margin account. Have cut down on the excess subscription for sake of rounding up the numbers to at least 100 tranche. Around S$7K for S$0.0558 per unit of Lendlease Global Commercial REIT ("LREIT"). Additionally, end of today I will further subscribe to another S$3.3K worth of LREIT @S$0.558  under my CDP account. I believe that the transformation to Singapore focused retail REIT model and the better aggregate leverage ratio has completed and LREIT's financial performance should stabilise going forward (provided its Management does not do anymore hostile & anti-shareholders stance such as massive diluting existing unit-holders from capital raising exercise via offering rights issuance to only new external shareholders).

(iii) Amova STC Asia REIT ETF (SGX-CFA)- Decided to pump in from my CPF OA account amount of S$10K at price of S$0.801 per unit during the REIT pricing correction and fear of inflation coming back with financing cost spiralling upwards again. 

(iv) Mapletree Industrial Trust (SGX-MIT)- Interestingly, price of MIT has slid to below S$2.00 per unit level again and this represented a high dividend yield of more than 6.5%. From my CPF OA investment account, went on to accumulate another 2,000 units of MIT at price of S$1.97 per unit for S$3,940. 

Total accumulation over the past week: S$16.8K in cash top up and another S$14K from CPF OA. 

2. Parting Thoughts

At this juncture, I don't think anyone is certain of when exactly the war waged by US and the closure of the Straits of Hormuz by Iran will end. So take note that the stock markets might crash even further. Hang in there folks and hope that the senseless war will end soon and the global stock markets will eventually recover. Who dares wins!

Boustead REIT Opened 8.5% Lower Upon Listing From IPO Price of S$0.88 Per Unit.

Boustead REIT opened for trading this afternoon as of 12 March 2026 and tragedy struck immediately. Retail investors who subscribed for units @S$0.88 per unit during its recent IPO made an immediate loss with opening price of S$0.805 per unit which is a grave <8.5%> decline. I believed that the banker's stabilising manager have stepped in to keep up the price and thus trading in range of S$0.805-S$0.820 per unit. At its current price, dividend yield will be close to an impressive 8% per annum. Nevertheless, my personal thoughts is be careful that Boustead may just be a dividend trap. 

Please see my review of Boustead REIT during its IPO here:

Boustead REIT IPO- 3 Reasons Retail Investors Need To Stay Far Far Away.

Lendlease REIT Upcoming Rights Issuance Becoming A Nightmare With No Takers- Subscribe Only On Last Day to See Market Price.

Please see Video here.

Boustead REIT IPO- 3 Reasons Retail Investors Need To Stay Far Far Away.

Hi Folks, for those who have already subscribed to the Boustead REIT or love Boustead, please do not flame me for this post. This post is based only on my personal view. Strangely, the management of Boustead decided to go ahead to list their REIT when Donald Trump is still fighting a war with Iran- this is no doubt the worst possible time to IPO. On whether one shall subscribe to this IPO, the crux of the issue is not with the expected dividend yield or extent of the aggregate leverage level; It is also not about the low occupancy rate of less than 90%. The paramount consideration needs to go back to a Boustead fiasco back in November 2023 where a low ball buyout offer was made by Boustead to privatise and delist its real estate and engineering subsidiary Boustead Projects from existing shareholders then. Hence, if one does not want to lose his or her own hard earn capital, one needs to stay away from this IPO. I will elaborate on the above crux factor as well as another 2 other reasons on why one needs to avoid this subscription.

1. “Management Beliefs” and How Shareholders Are Treated.

First and foremost, Boustead Singapore Limited today is no longer the MNC founded by Edward Boustead in 1828 during the Straits Settlement days. Mr Wong Fong Hui and his family acquired Boustead back in 1996. Mr Wong is instrumental in transforming Boustead into a major engineering and technology conglomerate and is a very good businessman. His family held around 45% shares of Boustead Singapore Limited.

Now, the most uncomfortable factor for me is that in the event that the REIT faced a financial crisis which is part and parcel of the ups and downs of our economy, can it survive without causing much grief to its Unitholders? There may also be pro-longed periods where the REIT may trade at substantial discount to its fair value. One does not want to be in a situation whereby the REIT is being forced to privatise at a huge discount to the IPO price of S$0.88 per unit with a low ball offer. 

Additionally, I am not sure whether you folks recalled a non-government backed REIT called Soilbuild REIT that was listed and delisted- please go google and read up on it.

Basically, many sharp and wealthy businessmen can acquire a business at a less than fair valuation to delist and then a few years later, launch another IPO after re-packaging the investment properties inside. It maybe better to stick with the Capitaland or Mapletree Group of REITs in order to sleep better at night.

The 2023 Boustead Project delisting in a way can arguably be a quick preview of what may come in future for Boustead REIT. The consultant for that delisting even issued an opinion to shareholders then  that the initial offer was “reasonable but not fair”. However, the good news is that the offer was subsequently revised upwards significantly after some commotion. Nevertheless, this gives retail investors like myself some basic understanding of how the management of Boustead does business.  

2. Boustead REIT Mostly Industrial Properties and Low Occupacy Rate Less than 90%.

Another reason to stay away from this IPO is the less than 90% occupancy rate and the high concentration of major tenants for this IPO. In the event that there is a major tenant loss, it will take time and more CAPEX to sub-divide the property into smaller units configuration.

3. US Iran War and High Oil Prices May Bring Back Inflation or Even Recession,

Oil prices are spiking and the inflation monster may rear its ugly head once again. I believe many of you folks who held REITs for the past few years remember the high interest rate environment and the devastating effect on the market price of REITs. Prices of REITs will most likely drop further over the next few months.

Parting Thoughts.

Personally, I will be avoiding the Boustead REIT at all cost not just for this IPO but also in future. I have a very bad feeling on the performance of Boustead REIT post IPO and that this will go down the path of Soilbuild REIT. 

(Updated 9 March 2026: Added in additional information on Soilbuild REIT as readers may takeaway with the wrong impression that Soilbuild REIT and Boustead REIT are related entities.)

Lendlease REIT Upcoming Rights Issuance Becoming A Disaster- A Victim of Donald Trump's War On Iran.

Lendlease Global Commercial REIT ("LREIT") recent rights issuance exercise to raise funds to purchase the remaining 30% stake of PLQ Mall seems to be on the verge of a disaster as the recent closing price is S$0.555 per unit as at the closing of 5 March 2026. This is just below the rights issuance price of S$0.558 per unit.

1. What happens if price remain below S$0.558 per unit during the commencement of the rights issuance on 10 March 2026?

Now this is a very good question. If the price of LREIT continue to decline below the right issuance pricing, then no sane retail or institutional investors will subscribe for it. Instead, to avoid dilution, most investors will just buy from the open market. Nonetheless, the good news is that the joint underwriters trio of DBS, UOB and OCBC will step in to mop up the unsubscribed units at S$0.558 per unit. The process works like this according to the Underwriting Agreement dated 25 February 2026, the process works as follows:

• Sponsor Commitment: The sponsor, Lendlease Corporation, has provided an irrevocable undertaking to subscribe to its full provisional allotment of units;

• Underwriter Obligation: For all other units (the "Underwritten Units"), the Joint Underwriters (DBS, OCBC, and UOB) must first procure third-party subscribers;

• Backstop: If they cannot find enough subscribers, the underwriters themselves must subscribe and pay for all remaining units at the issue price of S$0.558;

• Funding Assurance: This structure ensures the REIT raises the full S$196.6 million required for the PLQ Mall acquisition and debt reduction, regardless of retail or institutional investor demand.

2. Parting Thoughts

LREIT seems to have become another victim of Donald Trump's war on Iran. For retail investors, such a turn of event for LREIT is ominous. The joint underwriters will eventually need to dispose part of or all of their accumulated units which will lead to further downward selling pressure on its market price.  

Deal of the Century By Netflix- Free US$2.8 Billion Extra Income Into Its Pocket.

Initially, back in early December 2025, I thought that Netflix's inking of the acquisition of Warner Bros is done and dusted. Then subsequently, Paramount Skydance suddenly jumped in to offer an all cash tender offer at a higher US$110.9 billion. On February 26, 2026, the management of Warner Bros decided to go for the "superior" offer from Paramount Skydance and cancelled the deal with Netflix. As a result, Warner Bros paid Netflix US$2.8 billion for the cancellation. Netflix thus walked away from the acquisition deal and made US$2.8 billion instantly. This is super insane given that the losing bidder, Netflix, gets away with US$2.8 billion of cancellation fees paid on a back to back basis by its rival Paramount Skydance! 

Additionally, Paramount Skydance debt level of expected US$79 billion escalated to the roof after the win. It asserted that is had identified cost cutting synergy of US$6 billion. This seems to be cutting down on film making and TV serial resources with upcoming retrenchment exercises. Paramount Skydance also just announced a 4th quarter of widening net loss of <US$573Mil> for its 4th quarter ending 31 December 2025. 

Personally, I thought that Netflix senior management made a very wise decision not to up its offer and just walkaway. It can now sit at the side to watch the Paramount-Warner Bros integration saga unfurl and also observe the struggle by the winner with the enormous debt. There maybe opportunities for Netflix in a few years time to made a bid for some of the business that Paramount maybe forced to firesales if it is failed in its plan to turn profit.

United Hampshire US REIT- 12.1% Increase in Distribution in FY2025 and Over 8% Forward Dividend Yield For FY2026.

For long term loyal holders of United Hampshire US REIT ("UH REIT") since IPO and for investors who had accumulated additional units when its price hover around the US$0.40 per unit in June 2024 during the high financing cost period, UH REIT just announced the good news of an impressive 12.1% increase in its distribution for financial year ending 31 December 2025. Let us go through some of the financial analysis, normalised distribution yield and also the distribution notice:

Section 1: Revised Distribution Yield From Increase in Distribution.

For UH REIT, 2nd Half 2025 Net Property Income increased 2.3%. This growth was supported by the commencement of new leases, rental escalation from existing leases, contribution from the newly acquired Dover Marketplace and lower interest rates as well as borrowings.

It resulted in a 12.1% overall increase in distribution per unit relative to the 2nd half of 2024. At 2.30 cents per unit, this is an annualised distribution yield of US$0.046 per unit. As per the announcement date of 20 February 2026, the market traded price was US$0.560 per unit. This implied an annual distribution yield of 8.2% per annum. This is an extremely attractive distribution yield in the SREIT universe given its consistent more than 95% occupancy rate for grocery related retail business since IPO.

Section 2: Substantial Discount to Net Asset Value Per Unit of US$0.73 Per Unit.

As at 31 December 2025, the net asset value per unit of UH REIT stood at US$0.730 per unit. Based on its current market price during announcement date, its market price was US$0.560 per unit. This is a 30% upside at current market price.  

Section 3: Key Dates To Watch Out For Existing Unit-holders.

Unit-holders please take note of the following key dates. Firstly, Ex Dividend Date will be on 27 February 2026 (Friday) while distribution payment date will only be on 30 March 2026 (Monday).

Section 4: Parting Thoughts.

To give some additional background context, UH REIT listed on SGX on 12 March 2020. The IPO subscription price was US$0.80 per unit. On its first day trading date, UH REIT debuted at US$0.72 (S$1.02), which was 10% lower than its IPO price due to market volatility at that time. It is unfortunate that the debut was soured by the COVID crisis with financial results battered by the post COVID high inflationary environment that leads to escalating financing cost as well as 10% decline in strength of USD over this dark period. Nevertheless, the distribution from UH REIT  has recovered strongly over the past year. It fared the best in terms of SREIT with commercial properties in the US. While Manulife US REIT, Prime US REIT and Keppel Pacific Oak US REIT have suspended all or part of their dividend distributions, UH REIT continued to pay out distributions consistently.    

Ok, that's all for today folks! Bye for now!

Retail SREIT With 12.1% Increase in Distribution in FY2025 and Over 8% Forward Dividend Yield For FY2026.

Please refer to video: Retail SREIT With 12.1% Increase in Distribution in FY2025 and Over 8% Forward Dividend Yield For FY2026. 

Lendlease REIT Management Latest Rights Issue Finally Did Justice To Existing Unit-Holders- Full Acquisition of PLQ Mall.

The management of Lendlease REIT ("LREIT") announced this morning that it will acquire the remaining 30% of PLQ Mall and will launch a $196.6 mil rights issue priced at 55.8 cents each. Finally, the management listened after the previous private tranche placement in November 2025 whereby the same PLQ property acquisition leads to dilution of existing loyal unit-holders. I hope that the management continues to offer retail investors preferential rights first before tapping on new investors as a form of basic courtesy.

1. Subscribe or Not?

Personally, I will be taking up the issuance given the very attractive entry price of S$0.558 per unit relative to the market closing rate before the announcement of S$0.60 per unit. This will be a more than 6% distribution yield for the new units. 

The only uncertain risk here is the opening of the RTS which will grant Singaporeans more convenient access to Malaysian shopping malls and the extent of the adverse impact on Singapore retail scene. This is somewhat similar to Hong Kong retail which had went downhill for the past few years as shopper flocked to Shenzhen. But I am optimistic that the impact will be minimal on Singapore retail scene given that our local shopping malls have mostly pivoted to F&B outlets and education centres as tenants to complement retail grocery (NTUC Fairprice, Cold Storage etc). For example, parents will not send their kids over to Malaysia for tuition centres right? Another illustrative will be that, one will not want to expend too excessive time to go over Malaysia just to have McDonalds. 

2. Key Dates For Investors

Existing investors of LREIT, take note that the last date and time for acceptance is 18 March 2026 at 5.30pm and 9.30pm for Electronic Applications through ATM of participating bank.

Parting Thoughts

At the current low offered pricing of the new units at S$0.558 per unit, I think that the best option out there is to take it up. Interestingly, the previous private placement was done at S$0.602 per unit which is 7% more expensive. Most likely, I will also be subscribing for the excess. Also, guess, I no longer need to go to LREIT's 2026 AGM to pick a bone with their CEO and CFO on the unfair treatment of existing unit-holders which is very disrespectful and high handed in their previous fund raising exercise. 

Mr Loo Strikes Back At Kelvin Learns Investing and Boon Tee on Crash Buying Strategy!

The talk of our local town recently is on the "Crash Buying Strategy" advocated by Mr Loo from 1M65. Boon Tee started picking a bone with this strategy and then Kelvin Learns Investing started a similar video later on. Basically, they asserted that DCA or immediate lump sum investing offers better return to Mr Loo's assertion if one look back further into longer historical data like from 1981. Mr Loo later clapped back at the 2 young people for being "paper warriors" (纸上谈兵). Quite interesting investment strategies being discussed by the 3 of them. I have extracted the links below and the chronological order of events for those who are interested to know more about the saga as well as the pros and cons being discussed with regard to the "Crash Buying Strategy". 

1. The original Mr Loo's Live Video and Sharing of his Crash Buying System 

I Created A Powerful Crash Buying System! 2X Returns Within 10 years!

2.Boon Tee's Video on why he disagrees with Mr Loo:

Why I DISAGREE With Mr. Loo’s “Crash Buying” Strategy

3. Kelvin's Video on why he disagrees with Mr Loo:

I Tested Mr Loo’s Crash Buying Strategy — Here’s Where It Falls Short

4. Mr Loo Clapbacks at Boon Tee and Kelvin:

Crash Buying : Responding to Investment "Paper Warriors"

Parting Thoughts

Personally, I do not think that there is a magic formula for investing. Also, what happens in the past does not necessarily means it will also apply to the future. Also why Boon Tee's and Kelvin's remaining gang from BagHolder Pod went missing? Hmmm.....I will not be surprised if the 2 of them appeared together again with Chi Keng for another live YouTube show to talk about this "Crash Buying" saga to milk more views...haha...somemore perhaps with Mr Loo appearing as VIP guest again. Or will Mr Loo and them fall out because of this fiasco? 😕

Keppel Ltd Overvalued After Recent Rally and Confusing Final Dividends Reported In Media?

Keppel Ltd is my current top performing holdings with a return of 104% after the recent strong rally in share price. Previously, a number of social media folks were very skeptical of its new strategy to focus on developing its recurring income business. Also many condemned the high leverage employed by Keppel Ltd. Finally, this year turned up extremely well for Keppel Ltd. I attribute it mainly to the "Piyush" effect...haha. Good job overall by the Senior Management team of Keppel Ltd! It is good that the market has finally acknowledged the transformation by Keppel Ltd into an asset light fund management model with more stable recurring income. I have sold off around 25% of my holdings to lock in part of the capital gain. Do I think that Keppel Ltd still a good buy at this juncture? I will address this in the final part of my post. For now, I have a whinge against the dividend announcement that seems a bit confusing and will talk about this issue first.

1. Final Dividends Is S$0.47?

The ambiguous dividends totality in most mdedia is further compounded by the Straits Time and Business Times that state that Keppel Ltd has declared a "final dividend" of S$0.47 per share. So is this referring to the overall total dividends for FY2025 or the 2nd half FINAL dividend tranche?

Extract from Business Times

As it turns out, the news media have been rather loose in their reporting these days. S$0.47 per share should not be crafted as "Final Dividend". Rather, I think the correct wording should be "TOTAL dividend" for FY2025. This is because S$0.47 per share of "final" dividends reported by the Straits Times and Business Times actually comprises of an interim cash dividend of S$0.15 per share that was already paid out in August 2025- we thus have no choice but to deep dive into the announcements by Keppel Ltd.

Extract from Keppel Ltd Full Year Presentation Deck

As seen above from Keppel's presentation deck, the "Final" dividends is actually only S$0.19 per share and not S$0.47 per share. Hence total normalised dividends pay out rate is only S$0.34 per share (interim S$0.15+ final S$0.19). Also, market price of Keppel Ltd is S$12.86 per share as at the close of trading of 16 February 2026 (Monday). This translates to a normalised annual dividend yield of 2.6%. This is actually an extremely low yield without the special dividends. 

2. Special Dividends Clarification

Also, the main stream media has been rather ambiguous on the nature of the S$0.13 per share of "special" dividends. As per above extract from Keppel's presentation deck, the S$0.13 is made up of 2 components:

(i) Cash dividend of S$0.02 per share and

(ii) Dividend in-Specie of 1 KREIT unit for every 9 Keppel shares held which is equivalent to S$0.11 per share. This valuation is based on Keppel REIT's closing price of S$0.98 per unit on 3 February 2026 as well as Keppel's issued share capital of 1,801,659,827 shares as at 31 December 2025. I would think that the valuation of this from retail investor point of view would be the upcoming ex-dividend date whereby the legal obligation has been fully transferred to the hands of shareholders hence it may not be really S$0.98 per unit at that juncture. As a matter of fact, its price as at 16 February 2026 has already dropped to S$0.95 per unit.

2A. Illustrative Example of Quantum of Special Dividends

(i) Assuming one is holding on to 9,900 Keppel Ltd shares. The final dividends due after AGM approval will be S$1,881 (S$0.19 per share X 9,900 shares).

(ii) Also to further illustrate how the dividend in specie works, assuming the same 9,900 Keppel Ltd shares. So the investor would be entitled to 1,100 units of Keppel REIT (9,900 shares divided by 9). So the special dividend in specie would be S$1,078 (1,100 units X S$0.98 per unit). Add on the special cash dividends in such case, one would get cash special dividends of S$198. Hence total special dividend awarded will be S$1,296 in special cash dividend and dividend in-specie.

Total upcoming final dividends in such scenario will thus be S$3,177. 

3. Ex-dividends and Payout Dates.

The ex-dividend date for the final dividend is 27 April 2026 while the pay-out date is on 8 May 2026. So, take note of these key dates if you are an investor of Keppel Ltd.

4. Parting Thoughts- Keppel Ltd Still A Good Buy?
Personally, I will not buy anymore of Keppel Ltd at this juncture as I think that it is overvalued from a dividend investing strategy perspective. Its normalised dividend yield of 2.6%, as previously discussed in point 1 above, is too low for me at its current market price of S$12.68 per share. My entry price for this investment is around S$6.45. I do not think that there is any fundamental change since my first purchase as the senior management of Keppel Ltd has already announced their new strategy of fund management and focus on recurring income 2 years ago. The only exception is that Piyush has joined the board of Keppel Ltd but take note that  it is a non-executive role and this seemed to be the main reason folks are chasing after Keppel Ltd. This is probably due to Piyush's stellar track record in transforming DBS before leaving it and joining Keppel Ltd- I called it the Piyush's effect.

Last but not least, the new FY2026 seems to have already another "special" dividend guaranteed for next year payout. This is because the S$1 billion cash sales proceed of M1 will only be counted towards FY2026 and Keppel Ltd management has mentioned that they will be returning back part of all successful monetisation efforts (10%-15%) in the form of special dividends to shareholders. 

Ok, that's all folks! Have a great week ahead! Happy Lunar New Year to All! Huat Arh!

(P.S: Please see my previous investment thesis on Keppel Ltd back in 2024- Click link to post here)

Trump To Bully Canada Into Submission To Its Will.

Donald Trump continues his crazy antics to whack Canada over its decision to lower trade tariffs with China and moving ever closer to its Asian rival. Now Trump is blocking the opening of the new Howe International Bridge, which connects Detroit and Windsor and using it as leverage against Mark Carney. Interestingly (according to Guardian), back in the 1930s, the US did draw up a plan to invade Canada: It will kick off with the seizing of a strategically valuable port city. US soldiers would then sever undersea cables, destroy bridges and rail lines to paralyze infrastructure. Major Canadian cities on the shores of lakes and rivers would be captured in order to blunt any civilian resistance.

1. Moving Military Defence Away from Solely US

Due to an essential need for advanced conventional (non-nuclear) under-ice capabilities, Ottawa seems to be prioritising building of twelve new units of submarines as well as maintenance package (37 billion Euros package) to non-US ship building firms.  It will select either South Korea or Germany vendors to deliver the boats. This clearly demonstrates a desire to avoid over-relianceof defence-industrial dependency on US and a sign of deteriorating relationship between US and Canada.  

2. Will US Invade Canada Given How Egoistic Donald Trump is and also Carney's Refusal to Submit His Country To Bullying Tactics?

Honestly, I hope this does not happen else it will be very bad for the global economies. Given that Donald Trump has only a few more years before his presidential tenure end and also the upcoming mid-term US election that is strongly anticipated to change the current political landscape, there is an extremely low probability that war will breakout. 

 

Parting Thoughts

Mark Carney may turn up to be one of the greatest Prime Minister of Canada who refused to let his country be bullied into submission to Trump's demands. His standing ovation speech at the World Economic Forum where he called for "middle powers, such as his own, to work together to counter the rise of hard power and the great power rivalry, in order to build a more cooperative, resilient world", riled Trump badly and he is all-out to hustle Carney. 

Opportunity Arises From the 2nd Major Bitcoin Crash- Margin Call and US$2 Trillion Tumble in Crypto Market.

Somebody told me that Bitcoin ("BTC") is the new digital "Gold". Well, it turns out to be extremely volatile and a bad store of value. From its high of US$125K just a few months back in October 2025, it had plummeted to US$61K at one point in time on 6th February 2026. The most shocking thing is I just bought S$1K worth of BTC at US$78K a few days ago on 3rd February 2026. Suddenly, it just dived further, I made another small nibble of S$500 when BTC hits US$72K and another S$500 at US$63K on 5th February and 6th February respectively. I think I have another S$500 entered at various prices from US$80K to US$90K during my account opening earlier this year with a crypto exchange approved by the Monetary Authority of Singapore ("MAS").  So in total, I have put up around S$2,500 in capital to speculate in BTC. 

Will Bitcoin Hit Zero?

Personally, I though that the fair value of BTC is zero. Nevertheless, it is highly unlikely to ever hit zero. The simple reason is that BTC has come to be embraced by the mainstream financial institution and many governments. In January 2024, the US SEC approved Bitcoin ETFs as financial products. JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs has also included BTC as part of their wealth management products. Hence institutional adoption in some way protects BTC from falling to zero. But no one knows exactly how much it will plunge further given the extreme pessimism in market sentiment. 

Additionally, many are waiting for MicroStrategy- which uses leverage to purchase BTC- to collapse. The domino effect if triggered will lead to some very ugly repercussion on global economies. 

Personal Thoughts

Since the flash crash in October 2025, crypto has once again suffered another rout in 2026. I thought that there is now an opening for those like myself who wants to diversify one's traditional investment portfolios into crypto assets.

Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust Mixed Q3 Results For 2025/2026.

Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust ("MPACT") reported a higher Q3 distribution relatively to prior year. Nonetheless, its Revenue and net property income actually decrease. The issue with MPACT is still the same, that is, its crown jewel Singapore asset- Vivocity- continues to shine brightly while its overseas investment properties are still facing headwinds. Its occupancy rate as a consolidated group is only 88.1%.  So if Singapore Vivocity is currently 100% occupied, one can easily see that its overseas assets performance has been nothing short of a disaster- Japan and China properties are at occupancy rate of only 73.1% and 83.6% respectively as seen per below screenshot:

Occupancy Rates Breakdown

1. Other Key Overseas Property-Festival Walk (Hong Kong)

While Festival Walk continued to show resilience in its occupancy rate at a high 98% for past 2 years, its rental reversion continued to reflect a negative trend of <-10%> for Q3.  

Negative Reversion Again for Q3

Additionally, MPACT also will be completing its divestment of the office component of Festival Walk by February 2026. I think that this is the right step for MPACT which is struggling in its financial performance due to its overseas investment properties.

2. Key Financial Highlights

Key Highlights

Q3 Financials

As per earlier discussed, MPACT Q3 results are a tad disappointing in terms of operations. The good news here is that its Finance Expenses has lowered significantly by +10.2%. This is a +S$6Mil savings in terms of finance expenses for a quarter. Saying that, MPACT is not yet out of the woods. Its overseas properties are dragging down its overall financial performance. It maybe time to just divest its China and Japan properties. As for Hong Kong retail, I think that Festival Walk should see a gradual slow down in its negative rental reversion given that its economy is finally seeing the lights at the end of the tunnel. 

Parting Thoughts

Overall, I thought that it is a decent quarter for MPACT especially with higher distributions to unit-holders despite the not so good overseas performance. Given its Net Asset Value of S$1.75 per unit vs the market price of S$1.46 per unit, there is a still a 16.5% discount to NAV. MPACT should continue to diversify its overseas assets in order to realise more intrinsic value for unit-holders.

Hong Kong Phoenix Rising From The Ash- Doubling Down on Link REIT.

I thought that Hong Kong seems to be doing extremely well again despite the slump that persist post COVID and the weakening local retail scene due to the exodus of HongKongers shoppers going to Shenzhen to wine, dine SPA and shopping etc. Good news is that Hong Kong has recorded strong growth in its wealth management business. In 2024, cross-border wealth booked in the city surged by $231 billion to $2.7 trillion, putting Hong Kong is thus on par with Switzerland, the long-time leader in cross-border wealth management, according to Boston Consulting Group Inc.’s latest Global Wealth Report. The surge was the largest in the world that year. From then on, its wealth management continued to flourish and grow from 2025 and even now. Hong Kong also remained a vital gateway to Chinese mainland due to its deep talent pool and long time experience in the wealth management sector. As such, I think that the current slump in its retail and commercial property markets should be bottoming soon with revival in its economy engine. 

1. Portfolio Restructuring and Doubling Down on Link REIT.

It has been scary indeed to see the plunge in rental rates in Hong Kong. My Hong Kong work colleagues were telling me all sort of horror stories over the past 2 years on empty shops and sharp drop in commercial rental. However, with the surge in HKEX IPOs over the past year as well as the news on its rapid growth in Wealth Management sector, I would think that green shoots have appeared and that Hong Kong's commercial property slump will desist and rise again. I have began taking profits from my investment portfolios (sold off all my remaining Ping'An Insurance shares and part of my Keppel Ltd stocks after 78% profits surge) and reallocating the funds into Link REIT as well as Amova STC Asia REIT ETF (this also contains HK Link REIT on top of SG REITs). 

2. Link REIT

Latest full-year financial interim  results showed NAV per unit at around HK$61.19 at 30 Sep 2025. Market price as at 23 January 2026 is HKD35.48 per unit. It is thus trading at a 42% to its NAV.  Interestingly, pre-COVID days, Link REIT was trading at around NAV per unit. As such, I believe that there is potential for another 20%-30% capital appreciation. Current distribution yield hovers around 7.4% (as per StockCafe) which also makes it extremely attractive. I am also looking forward to Link REIT IPO of its Singapore Shopping malls.  

Parting Thoughts

I have built up around S$80K of Link REIT HKEX position as at  23 January 2026 (Friday) in view of a potential 20%-30% capital appreciation within the next 2 years and a potential IPO of its Singapore shopping malls. Its high distribution yield of 7.4% is also very tempting. Anyway, the above are my personal thoughts.  

Trump Tariff Trade War Continues Over US Grand Ambition To Annex Greenland.

Wow, today's SGX blue chip stocks was a sea of mostly red. Market sentiment may have been affected by the recent threats from US to its European allies. The situation has escalated with the European Union ("EU") preparing a retaliatory EUR93 billion package of tariffs against the United States of America should it go ahead to increase the import tariffs on EU nations- Trump has earlier threaten that he will impose the additional Tariff on EU nations until they support the annexation of Greenland. What a mess it has been! Again, the threat of global inflation from sky high import tariffs maybe back and if interest rates starts spiralling upwards again, it will inevitably decimate the SREIT recovery.  

Prime Minister Set in Motion Internal Conflict Within Workers' Party By Asking For A New Nomination For new "Leader of The Opposition".

Just sharing my personal thoughts on the latest development from the Singapore Parliament. It has become more and more interesting as the fiasco continues. Our Prime Minister has moved on to remove Pritam Singh as the "Leader of the Opposition" in Singapore Parliament after the dreaded motion. Then, he went on to ask the Workers' Party ("WP") to nominate "another suitable" candidate. I don't think the Workers' Party will accept this post or nomination. Accepting this will mean challenging the WP veterans of Pritam Singh and Sylvia Lim and lead to lots of internal conflicts. Nonetheless, this is a brilliant move by the PAP folks....well....there is always a chance that WP might erupt into an internal fight over who should lead the party and then self-disintegrate.