THE chief financial officer (CFO) of Sasseur real estate investment trust (Reit) has been interviewed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and Commercial Affairs Department as he &ldquo appeared to be acquainted with the circumstances of a case being investigated&rdquo , the Reit&rsquo s manager said in a filing with the Singapore bourse on Wednesday (Dec 7).

 

The investigation relates to Xie Jianfeng&rsquo s personal trading of securities, which is believed to have taken place had before he became an employee of the manager.

 

Xie told the manager that the authorities were conducting an investigation under the Securities and Futures Act of Singapore 2001, and that he was requested to attend the interview at the MAS on Dec 5.

 

He has surrendered his passport to the authorities pending further investigations, and he is not aware of restrictions or conditions imposed by the authorities as at the date of the filing with the bourse.

 

The Reit manager&rsquo s nominating and remuneration committee believes that, since the investigation has just started and no charges have been filed against Xie, he can carry on with his responsibilities as before.

 

Xie has signed an undertaking to keep the manager&rsquo s board updated on the progress of the ongoing investigation.

 

Sasseur Reit and its manager are not under investigation

 

China-based outlet mall operator Sasseur REIT announced in its business update that its 3QFY2022 ended September distribution per unit (DPU) came in at 1.838 cents some 0.4% higher than the previous year.

 

This came on the back of a 1.2% y-o-y increase in distributable income to $23.5 million.

 

This was despite its entrusted manager agreement (EMA) rental income coming in at $30.8 million, 2.1% lower than the previous year. This was due to a 3.3% y-o-y drop in the variable component, while the fixed component cushioned the drop with a 3.0% y-o-y increase.

 

The group attributed its decline in variable income to sporadic Covid-19 outbreaks in China from August to September, leading to temporary closures of two outlets and reduced shopper traffic, as well as extreme weather in both Chongqing Liangjiang Outlets and Chongqing Bishan Outlets in August which resulted in shortened opening hours in order to reduce the city&rsquo s energy consumption.

 

Total outlet sales for the quarter came in 3.5% lower from 3QFY2021 at RMB962.2 million ($185.1 million), while portfolio occupancy was the highest in four years, surpassing pre-Covid-19 occupancy at 96.9%.

 

Weighted average lease expiry (WALE) by net lettable area for the quarter stood at 2.7 years, slightly higher than 2.5 years in the previous quarter.