As at Dec. 31, 2019, there were 178 REITs active in the Asia-Pacific region, with a combined market value of US$292.4 billion, up approximately 25% y-o-y. The Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong markets account for the lion's share, with 93% of the total market value.
Distributed return rates were highest in Singapore, at 6.2%, followed by Hong Kong at 5.6% and Japan at 4.0%. Leverage ratios were greatest in Japan at 44%, with Singapore at 35% and Hong Kong at 26%.
In addition, aggregate rates of return in 2019 were strongest in Singapore and Japan, achieving the best performance in a decade at 25.3% and 25.6% respectively, compared with only 5.3% for REITs in Hong Kong.
In terms of P/B ratios, REITs in Hong Kong showed a discount at 0.64, while those in Singapore and Japan both gained from rising capital values in the year, presenting P/B ratios of 1.09 and 1.18 respectively.
