SPH REIT has opted not to disclose the salaries of its board of directors and management team, despite receiving a query from the market regulator.

SGX had sent SPH REIT the query, noting that its manager had not fully complied with the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s Code of Corporate Governance with regards to the remuneration of key managers.

This information should have been disclosed in the REIT’s annual report for the 2020 financial year that ended on 31 August, the SGX query suggested.

In its explanation of the omission, SPH REIT said that the remuneration of its directors and employees of the manager are not paid out of the REIT's deposited property.

Instead, they are remunerated directly by the REIT’s manager, which is a private company.

“Remuneration matters for the CEO and each of the executive officers are highly confidential and sensitive matters”, said SPH REIT.

Such a disclosure might have a negative impact on its ability to attract and retain talent, the REIT noted, adding that there is no misalignment of interests as the remuneration is not linked to the REIT’s gross revenue.

SPH REIT was last done on the SGX at SGD0.82, which implies a distribution yield of 3.4% excluding retained earnings, according to data compiled on the Singapore REITs table.