DBS has kept its "buy" call and $2.60 target price on Mapletree Industrial Trust ME8U (MINT) following news that long-serving CEO Tham Kuo Wei is moving to another role within sponsor Mapletree Investments.
CFO Ler Lily, who has held this role since 2011, will take over from Tham.
Tham, the REIT's founding CEO since its listing back in 2010, has since delivered total returns of more than 300%, says DBS in a note on May 31.
"If there is one CEO who is synonymous to the REIT he managed, that will be Tham Kuo Wei," says DBS.
Under Tham, MINT has changed from a Singapore-centric owner of industrial properties to a global asset owner with an "enviable" portfolio of data centres in US and Japan.
"While investors will feel a 'sense of loss' given Kuo Wei’s frank and candid guidance through the years, we like to also welcome Lily Ler, who has been the guardian of MINT’s finances since 2011," says DBS.
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Separately, Citi Research calls Tham's move a "surprise", although analyst Brandon Lee says it is "not uncommon" for senior management of S-REITs to move to their sponsors and vice versa.
Lee acknowledges that Ler, the incoming CEO, is a "capable replacement", he maintains that Tham's "strong standing, following, and rapport" among investors may lead to "knee-jerk negative reaction" share price reaction.
Lee has kept his 'buy' call and $2.41 price target on the counter.
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As at 9.25am, MINT share price held steady at $2.19.
