The CEO Magazine Asia — January 2018

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suppliers or banks. “Our job is to be a fair

partner to all these companies. That means

it is not a win–lose relationship; it’s always

going to be a win–win,” Miguel says. “If we

treat them fairly, they treat us fairly and the

partnership can continue in the long run.

This way, we don’t second-guess each other

when we do business. A contract is worth

more in mutual understanding, rather than

something you refer to all the time.”

IT’S NOT JUST A SPACE

Throughout his career, Miguel has witnessed

several changes in the hospitality and

property sector, and the current trend

reshaping the foundations of these industries

is disruption. “People mention Uber and

others in the machine-learning business when

they talk about disruption, but it’s no less in

the real estate business,” he says. “Traditionally,

real estate developers focused on partnerships

with major tenants, other big developers,

and the government, but that has changed

over the past few years. Individual members

are making their own buying decisions, and

even big corporations are realising that

employees are having a strong say in where

they want to work and how they want to

work, so the requirement for space is quite

different. The concept real estate companies

talk about now is that the definition of

‘space’ is still changing.

“We’re not just landlords anymore; we’re

providing services and connecting people.

‘Space as a service’ is the new work concept

that is commonly used to describe the way

we work. We are now focusing beyond

big corporate tenants and looking into the

small end users. A lot of what we have for

individuals these days is co-working space.” »

A CLOSER LOOK AT ASCENDAS–SINGBRIDGE

An insight into Ascendas–Singbridge’s three listed funds: Ascendas Real Estate Investment

Trust, Ascendas India Trust, and Ascendas Hospitality trust.

Ascendas Real Estate Investment Trust (Ascendas Reit)

Described as Singapore’s first and largest listed business space and real estate investment

trust, Ascendas Reit has a portfolio of 101 properties in Singapore and 30 in Australia

as at 30 September 2017. The properties host more than 1,300 local and international

companies spanning life sciences, R&D, IT, electronics and logistics. Listed on the

Singapore Stock Exchange, Ascendas Reit has assets valued at over S$10 billion.

Ascendas India Trust (a-iTrust)

a-iTrust is the first Indian property trust in Asia that targets business and IT properties.

It currently owns seven IT parks across Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune and Bengaluru.

These properties host more than 300 tenants.

Ascendas Hospitality Trust (A-HTRUST)

Like its name suggests, A-HTRUST specialises in hospitality funding and has a

well-diversified portfolio valued at $1.6 billion. Its 11 hotels are managed by some of the

most recognised hotel groups, including Marriot and Accor, and are located within or near

major business precincts across key cities in the Asia–Pacific region.

Interview | INSPIRE