In contrast, another Singapore-listed US office REIT, Prime US REIT, which reduced distributions to just 10% in 2HFY2023, has, since 2HFY2025, raised the distributable income payout ratio to 50%, and subsequently to 65%.
Keppel Pacific Oak US REIT (KORE), which also suspended distributions in 2HFY2023, announced an early resumption of distributions. MUST remains the only one of the three still withholding distributions entirely.
The REIT’s valuations are not helping either. As of December 2025, portfolio valuations fell by 1.6% y-o-y to US$913.8 million ($1.1 billion), although four out of seven assets saw rebounds. MUST’s portfolio weighted-average discount rates fell by 12 basis points (bps) and weighted terminal capitalisation rates rose by 4 bps, which reflects “signs of stabilisation”, says MUST’s CEO and CIO John Casasante. But signs are not distributions.
As of Dec 1, 2025, MUST remained US$55.6 million short of its end-2025 divestment target despite divesting Capitol, Plaza and Peachtree in 2024 and 2025.
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At the FY2025 results briefing on March 19, Casasante declined to comment on the potential disposal of Figueroa, citing an ongoing transaction. Figueroa, which was valued at US$98.1 million as of December 2025, will more than cover MUST’s divestment target.
Notably, MUST had originally been scheduled to announce its results on the morning of Feb 26, but delayed the announcement till March 18, citing “negotiations on the sale of an asset”. Under the disposition mandate, the sale of an asset requires a valuation no earlier than two months before the entry into the purchase and sale agreement. Should the disposition take place, the REIT will require a new valuation for the asset.
That said, investors will be wary of what that valuation will look like. As one investor noted during the briefing, MUST’s assets have consistently been revalued downwards to the point where its new transacted price always falls within 10%.
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Casasante acknowledged as much, saying the REIT was viewed as “somewhat of a stressed seller”. As such, the spread between valuation and spot may be greater. However, with fundamentals improving, the spread should narrow.
MUST’s Growth and Value Plan, approved by unitholders in December 2025, broadens its investment mandate to industrial, living and retail assets in the US and Canada from Jan 1. On paper, it is the REIT’s most substantive strategic shift; in practice, executing it requires completing further asset sales, recycling the proceeds into acquisitions, and doing so while managing a leverage ratio that still sits at 58%, well above the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s 50% guideline.
The path back to distributions is clear in theory: sell assets, repay debt, bring leverage to below 50%, and hold the ICR at 1.5 times for one quarter. But for unitholders who bought in at 83 US cents and are now sitting on 6 US cents, the distance between the two has never felt more significant.
