ASIA

In China:

• The move comes amid Xi’s diminishing tolerance for big businesses that have amassed capital and influence and perceived to have challenged his rule.

• . Imports disappointed with a 4.7% increase versus September’s 13.5% increase.

In Japan:

• Suga noted cases were surging in Hokkaido, Osaka and Aichi.

• Requests from ruling party lawmakers have ranged between ¥10-30T ($95-286B).

REIT Focus:

Mapletree Industrial shares fell this week after the company failed to be included in the MSCI Singapore Index. Some analysts had expected the company to be included in the Index.

Europe

In Europe:

• The US allies in the region, have typically had a contentious relationship with President Trump and believe that Joe Biden will renew previous US diplomatic values

• It was the fifth consecutive month of expansion, although the economy was still 8.2% from reaching pre-Covid levels.

REIT Focus:

European and US shopping center REIT Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) announced that at its Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) this week it failed to obtain the necessary two thirds of votes required to proceed with an intended capital raise of approximately €3.5 bn via an equity rights offering. Back on September 16, 2020 URW announced an ambitious €9.0 bn+ “RESET” plan aimed at strengthening its balance sheet, increasing its financial flexibility and rebalancing its portfolio to reduce retail exposure and shift towards more mixed use at some of its retail locations with a mix of residential and office. In addition to the proposed equity offering, the plan included €4.0 bn of asset sales, dividends savings through a scrip dividend alternative and reduced cap ex spend. Since that initial announcement, URW has faced some opposition from a consortium of European investors led former URW CEO Leon Bressler and others. While URW’s Board of Directors and a number of proxy advisory firms continued to recommend the equity raise, not enough URW shareholders agreed (62% versus the required two thirds). At the EGM shareholders did approve three new supervisory board appointments put forward by the activist shareholder consortium.

North America

In the U.S.:

• In addition, the Biden/Harris transition team has not been granted access to intelligence briefings or have been given any extension that would suggest a seamless transfer of power.

• The news could not come at a better time, as infection rates have skyrocketed this week to the highest levels on record.

REIT Focus

American Homes 4 Rent (AMH) acquired 55 acres of undeveloped land at Etowah Shoals Village, a mixed-use, multi-generational development in Canton, GA. AMH plans to invest ~$50M in developing River Ridge, a 198 single-family rental home community.

The views expressed in this update are as of the date of this blog entry. These views and any portfolio holdings discussed in the update are subject to change at any time based on market or other conditions. The adviser disclaims any duty to update these views, which may not be relied upon as investment advice. In addition, references to specific companies’ securities should not be regarded as investment recommendations or indicative of the Adelante products, strategies, or portfolios.