On the other hand, CL's REIB revenue was down 14% y-o-y to $207 million due to the exit of its US corporate housing platform last August. "In our view, with the fee engine strengthening and the investment side shrinking, this structural shift to asset-light is in the right direction," says Loh.
CLI's management, according to Loh, is aiming for double-digit fee revenue growth in 2026, single-digit operating earnings growth, with 2Q26 fundraising being the key risk as the $4.9 billion raised in 2025 will be hard to beat in a volatile market.
According to Loh, Singapore remains CLI’s one bright spot anchoring its conviction as funds deployment has been selectively paused globally, bar Singapore.
Also, CLI's lodging business and its China assets continue to weigh down overall results due to softer occupancy and rental revisions.
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For one, CLI suffered negative rental reversion pressure throughout its retail, office, logistics and industrial parks assets in China. Of note was office occupancy which was only 81% in 1QFY2026 while shopper traffic growth of only 1.3% y-o-y was the weakest within CLI’s retail assets, though tenants’ sales growth was the strongest at 4.3% y-o-y.
Loh points out that despite its strong share price performance in the past three months, CLI has been a major laggard in the STI and vs its comparable companies in the property and/or asset management sectors on a one-, three and five-year basis. One reason is that $22.9 billion of CLI’s $50 billion in private funds under management (FUM) is concentrated in China.
With the country’s geopolitical and property sector headwinds showing no near- or medium-term signs of being resolved, this overhang will limit re-rating potential, says Loh.
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"Thus, a Temasek-led re-rating-focused combination with Mapletree Investments could make it more compelling for all stakeholders involved," he suggests.
CapitaLand Investments closed at $2.78 on April 30, down 0.71%
