The month of August witnessed several notable Australian commercial office transactions from Singaporean investors;

1. GIC purchased a 25.1% in Lendlease International Tower Sydney Trust (LLITST) who owns the Barangaroo Towers from CPPIB. LLITST was last valued at A$4.3 billion. Transaction is expected to close in by end Q3 subject to regulatory approval.
2. Soilbuild REIT purchased 25 Grenfell Street, Grade A office in Adelaide, for A$134.22 million.

Our thoughts: Singaporean investors have spent A$1.57 billion on Australian commercial assets year-to-date, and could well surpass the A$1.9 billion done last year as investor appetite for high-quality assets that are expected to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns over the long run improves.