1 World Bank Group. (2016, January). Global Economic Prospects: Spillovers and Weak Growth
2 Europe Summit Statement. (2015, August 15). Greece crisis: Eurogroup agrees to third bailout. Retrieved from BBC News:
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world-europe-33934238
3 Mui, Y. Q. (2015, June 29). What the crisis in Greece means for the U.S. and global economies . Retrieved December 16, 2015, from The Washington
Post:
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4 McCurry, J. (2015, June 25). Greece Crisis: markets begin to tumble as investors flee. Retrieved December 16, 2015, from The Guardian:
.
theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/29/greece-crisis-markets-begin-to-tumble-as-investors-flee
5 Suroyo, G. (2015, October 22). Indonesia offers incentives to spur asset revaluations, REITs. Retrieved January 18, 2016 , from Reuters:
.
reuters.com/article/us-indonesia-taxation-idUSKCN0SG2Y020151022
6 Bloomberg data as at 18 December 2015
7 Flynn, F. (2015, November 30). Nippon Life Plans Japan’s Largest REIT as Investors Crave Yield. Retrieved December 17, 2015, from Bloomberg:
impact on global financial markets. Looking ahead,
downside risks are expected to continue.
In the midst of uncertainty, PLife REIT continues to
offer a stable and attractive investment proposition to
investors looking for defensive plays.
Strengthening of REIT markets in Asia
With two of the largest economies in the world developing
frameworks for REITs, Singapore will not only face fierce
competition from Japan, but also from China and India.
While China and India seeks to overcome the various
teething problems as they shape the regulatory and tax
frameworks in their respective markets, Indonesia is
likely to rival Singapore with the revision in taxation and
new listing guidelines. For instance, in a bid to develop
its REIT regime Indonesia ended the double taxation
which was previously applicable to REITs
5
.
Meanwhile the REIT sector in Japan is gaining ground
with a market capitalisation of USD 84.5 billion, ahead
of Australia (USD 80.5 billion) and just behind U.S
(USD 0.76 trillion)
6
. Monetary easing by the Bank of
Japan, decline in interest rates and robust healthcare
facilities and assets will continue to fuel more listings,
especially in the healthcare space in Japan. Currently
there are already three healthcare REITs in Japan with
Nippon Life Insurance Co. planning the listing of Japan’s
largest private REIT
7
. Although this may present more
competition for PLife REIT, it also provides a robust
operating environment that fuels investor interests.
Leveraging on its experience and knowledge of the
healthcare sector, PLife REIT remains well positioned
amidst the growing challenges from the local competition.
In Singapore, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)
has recently introduced tighter regulations to further
enhance the transparency and corporate governance of
the S-REIT market and also to improve its attractiveness
to global investors. Across the REIT sector, Fitch Ratings
has highlighted that the strong performance of healthcare
ParkwayLife REIT
Annual Report 2015
11
