Jefferies Maintains “Buy” Rating on Mapletree Logistics Trust After Recent Acquisitions

November 25, 2021 – Jefferies maintained a ‘buy’ rating on Mapletree Logistics Trust (MLT) as the real estate investment trust’s (REIT) decision to acquire warehouses in China, Vietnam, and Japan will position it to benefit from recent economic trends. 

In its most recent analysis of the REIT’s dynamics, Jefferies said MLT’s new assets will help to rejuvenate its portfolio, bring in new tenants, and deepen its regional network.

MLT recently announced its proposal to acquire 13 warehouses in China, 3 in Vietnam, and a third party warehouse in Nagoya, Japan for a total consideration of S$1.46 billion (US$1.02 bullion).

“The transaction will help MLT to deepen presence, tap into growth of domestic consumption in China and benefit from structural trends such as e-commerce, ‘China plus’ strategy of MNCs [multinational corporations] and increased inventory levels resulting from the pandemic,” Jefferies said. 

“The portfolio is relatively young with an average age of less than 3 years. Further, it diversifies the tenant base and will bring in new tenants such as SF Express, J&T, Best and Meituan,” it added. 

The investment firm signaled a “maintain buy” rating on the REIT.