Ascendas REIT - Annual Report 2021

Dear Unitholders, Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, our business has proven to be resilient. We are pleased to report strong operational and financial results for FY2021. This reflects the value of a multi-asset portfolio strategy comprising business space, logistics, industrial and data centres in developed markets. Our portfolio is anchored by well-located quality properties that cater to growth sectors such as technology and life sciences, and the demand for data centres and warehouse space. Our customer base is also large and diversified, and the trust is secured by a strong capital structure. Performance in 2021 The portfolio recorded a higher occupancy rate of 93.2% as at 31 December 2021 compared to 91.7% as at 31 December 2020. Rent reversions grew 4.5% for leases that were renewed during the year. Newly acquired properties during 2020 and 2021 contributed significantly to the 18.6% year- on-year growth in net property income to S$920.8 million. In addition, the Manager voluntarily waived part of its performance fee to offset the effect of the rental rebates mandated by the Singapore government that resulted in a lower DPU in FY2020. As such, Unitholders received a higher full year DPU of 15.258 cents, an increase of 3.9%over the previous year (after performance fee). Net asset value (NAV) per Unit increased to S$2.38 from S$2.21 a year ago. In a year where we invested in S$2.1 billion worth of properties to grow the business, we took steps to maintain a healthy aggregate leverage of 35.9%. Consequently, Ascendas Reit continues to maintain its A3 issuer rating from Moody’s. The strong balance sheet will enable Ascendas Reit to seize quality opportunities as they arise as well as to better withstand uncertain times. Focused Growth We successfully executed a record of S$2.1 billion worth of new investments, boosting the value of Ascendas Reit’s total investment properties to S$16.3 billion. The most sizeable acquisition was for a portfolio of 11 data centres which are predominantly located in three of the top data centre markets in Europe, namely London, Amsterdam and Paris. Costing S$904.6 million, this acquisition raised Ascendas Reit’s investment in data centres to S$1.5 billion or 9% of our total investment properties of S$16.3 billion (from 4% or S$0.5 billion as at 31 December 2020). All of the S$2.1 billion of investments made in 2021 were part of our plan to steer our portfolio mix to meet the evolving needs of our existing and potential customers. We now have a multi- asset portfolio that caters to the rapidly growing new economy opportunities such as technology, life sciences, data centre and logistics. These properties represent a significant 81% of Ascendas Reit’s total asset under management and contributed 78% to the total gross revenue in FY2021. We believe the demand for our asset classes will continue to grow and remain healthy. Read more about Ascendas Reit’s acquisitions and development projects in The Manager’s Review of FY2021 on pages 38 to 47. Sustainability Sustainability forms a key pillar of our strategy and we strive to embed it into all aspects of our business. Targets relating to green building certifications, renewable energy and green financing have been included in the Manager’s Balanced Scorecard to align our activities and achieve our intended outcomes. We made good progress to increase: (a) the number of green certified properties in our portfolio to 49 from 39 a year ago, (b) the amount of solar energy generated from our rooftop solar farms in Singapore to approximately 11,600 MWh from 10,355 MWh1 in 2020, and (c) the amount of green financing to S$1.2 billion from S$400 million in 2020. During the year, we secured three green USD term loans, a green AUD term loan, and issued an inaugural USD green interest rates swap. Total green financing accounts for approximately 20% of our current total borrowings. 1 Based on actual solar energy generated in 2020. Annual Report 2021 11