SINGAPORE - Another big Singapore landlord has announced measures to help tenants of its malls cope with the business impact of the coronavirus outbreak.
Frasers Property Retail is introducing a tenant support package across Frasers Property's 14 malls in Singapore, which includes retail properties held under Frasers Centrepoint Trust as well as those managed by AsiaMalls Management, it said in a media release on Wednesday (Feb 26).
As part of the package, Frasers will be passing on the 15 per cent tax rebate on commercial properties for 2020, announced in the Budget last Tuesday (Feb 18), to all qualifying businesses. It did not say how it plans to do so.
On a case-by-case basis, tenants may also convert security deposits paid for in cash into banker's guarantees, so as to ease cashflow challenges.
The 14 malls comprise Anchorpoint, Bedok Point, Causeway Point, Changi City Point, Eastpoint Mall, Northpoint City, The Centrepoint, YewTee Point, Waterway Point, Century Square, Hougang Mall, Tiong Bahru Plaza, Tampines 1 and White Sands.
Tenants can also opt for shorter operating hours from 11am to 9pm, while the standard operating hours of the malls, 10am to 10pm, remain unchanged.
To increase traffic to the malls and support tenant sales, Frasers has also introduced complimentary parking at its properties from 12pm to 2pm and 6pm to 10pm daily.
It also plans to roll out marketing initiatives to support tenants and boost sales.
One such initiative is a reduced rental rate for atrium spaces in malls, so that tenants can use such spaces to drive sales.
Mr Low Chee Wah, chief executive of Frasers Property Retail, said: "The tenant support package will help stem the immediate cashflow challenges that tenants might be facing due to a sudden and unexpected dip in revenue.
"We will monitor the situation closely, and if the situation worsens, we will consider rolling out additional support such as rental reliefs to tenants who are most affected."
Frasers Property Retail is a platform under Frasers Property Singapore, which is a strategic business unit of the listed Frasers Property group.
Other mall owners and developers have launched measures to help tenants tide over this period. CapitaLand, which operates Singapore's largest mall network, is releasing one month's worth of security deposits to offset rental payments for next month. It is also passing on the property tax rebate to tenants, extending them $10 million in marketing assistance and allowing shorter operating hours.
Mapletree Commercial Trust, APM Property Management and Perennial Real Estate Holdings have announced their own measures to help retail tenants amid the outbreak.
