Interest rates have eased from their peak.
The cost of capital still shapes how REITs grow.
Buying the right assets remains one of the surest routes to a higher distribution per unit (DPU).
Three STI-component REITs have moved on this front.
Each has announced acquisitions aimed at lifting what unitholders eventually collect.
For REITs, the test is whether an acquisition adds more to distributable income than it costs to fund.
Here is how three of Singapore’s largest REITs are approaching that test.
Keppel DC REIT (SGX: AJBU)
Keppel DC REIT owns 25 data centres across 10 countries, with assets under management (AUM) at around S$6.3 billion as at 31 March 2026.
This is the one name here that has already turned acquisitions into higher payouts.
Gross revenue climbed 18.4% year on year (YoY) to S$121.0 million in the first quarter of 2026 (1Q2026).
Net property income (NPI) rose 19.4% to S$105.2 million, while distributable income increased 20.7% to S$74.6 million.
DPU landed at S$0.02833, up 13.2% on the same quarter a year ago.
The gains came from the acquisition of Tokyo Data Centre 3 and the remaining interests in Keppel DC Singapore 3 and 4.
Contract renewals and rental escalations added more, with the divestment of Kelsterbach Data Centre in Germany partly offsetting these.
Rental reversion for contracts renewed during the quarter reached roughly 51%.
The balance sheet supports more of the same.
Aggregate leverage fell 20 basis points quarter on quarter to 35.1%, leaving around S$550 million in debt headroom.
The average cost of debt improved to 2.6%, down 40 basis points YoY, and fixed rates cover about 84.8% of borrowings.
Structural demand from artificial intelligence workloads continues to underpin the outlook for data centres.
CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust (SGX: C38U), or CICT
CICT is one of Singapore’s largest REITs, and has CapitaLand Investment Limited (SGX: 9CI) as its sponsor.
It holds retail, office and integrated development properties across Singapore, Germany and Australia.
CICT distributes half-yearly, so no DPU was declared for the previous quarter.
Gross revenue rose 8.0% YoY to S$426.7 million, while NPI rose 7.9% to S$314.4 million.
The step-up to full ownership of CapitaSpring from 26 August 2025 and maiden income from Gallileo drove the stronger top line.
Meanwhile, for its malls, shopper traffic rose 3.2%, with tenant sales per square foot rising 2.2% YoY, led by suburban malls.
The DPU story sits in a pending deal.
CICT has proposed acquiring 100% of Paragon from Cuscaden Peak at an agreed property value of S$3.9 billion, and plans to part-fund this by divesting Asia Square Tower 2 for S$2.48 billion, a 9.9% premium over the December 2025 valuation.
Management indicated pro forma DPU accretion of 1.7% from the acquisition and divestment combined.
That figure is a projection, not a reported result.
More reshaping is underway.
The divestment of Bukit Panjang Plaza completed on 27 February 2026.
A new S$160.0 million asset enhancement initiative (AEI) at Plaza Singapura and The Atrium@Orchard starts in the third quarter of 2026.
CICT is targeting a 6% to 7% return on investment through to the fourth quarter of 2028.
CapitaLand Ascendas REIT (SGX: A17U), or CLAR
CLAR is Singapore’s oldest industrial REIT.
Its 229 properties span business space and life sciences, industrial and data centres, and logistics across Singapore, the US, Australia and the UK/Europe.
Total AUM stood at S$18.6 billion as at 31 March 2026.
CLAR also reports half-yearly, so it disclosed no gross revenue, NPI or DPU for the quarter.
It showed intent instead.
It completed around S$525 million of acquisitions in the first quarter of 2026, which covered DHL Canal Winchester in the US, six Grade A logistics properties in Spain, and a 50% interest in Ascent at Singapore Science Park.
The Spanish portfolio arrived at full occupancy and lifted UK/Europe occupancy to 93.1%.
A further S$1.1 billion of acquisitions has been announced and described as DPU-accretive.
These cover a 49% interest in a Tier III hyperscale data centre in Greater Osaka, CLAR’s first investment in Japan, and 25 Loyang Crescent in Singapore.
No accretion figure has been put to these deals yet.
Funding the expansion pushed aggregate leverage to 42.0% as at 31 March 2026, which should ease to around 37.3% after the S$903.5 million equity fund raising completed in April 2026.
Portfolio rental reversion for the quarter came in at +10.6%, with the US leading at +15.1%.
Management guided for mid-single-digit rental reversion for FY2026.
Get Smart: Reported growth and projected growth are not the same
All three REITs are buying assets to lift their distributions.
Only one has shown the result.
Keppel DC REIT has already converted its acquisitions into a 13.2% DPU increase.
CICT has put a number on what its Paragon deal should deliver, at 1.7%, though that number is still pro forma.
CLAR has told the market its pipeline is accretive without saying by how much.
The distinction matters when you weigh these names.
A projected DPU lift depends on the deal closing, the funding landing as planned, and the assets performing.
Keppel DC REIT has cleared those hurdles for its latest round.
The other two are asking you to trust the process.
Both paths can work out well.
Knowing which stage each REIT sits at helps you judge what you are buying.
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Disclosure: The Smart Investor owns shares of CICT, CLAR, and Keppel DC REIT.
