" BEIJING &mdash An unemployed young college graduate has stopped buying new sneakers. A clothing store clerk gave up his gym membership. An events planner, his pay cut by four-fifths, now moonlights as a takeout delivery driver &mdash and can no longer afford to eat out.

SASSEUR Real Estate Investment Trust (Sasseur Reit), which owns outlet malls in China, posted a 19.4 per cent drop in its distribution per unit (DPU) to 1.334 Singapore cents for its first quarter ended March 31, 2020, from 1.656 Singapore cents a year ago.

 

The Reit' s rental income under its entrusted management agreements (EMA) fell 10.1 per cent to S$27.6 million for the quarter, from S$30.7 million the year prior. The manager said rental income in the first quarter has been less impacted by disruptions from the Covid-19 pandemic compared to other malls and Reits, due to the EMA rental income model.

 

The manager plans to undertake asset enhancement initiatives during the second quarter. This includes repositioning its Chongqing outlets as a lifestyle and shopping destination. Block B of its Hefei outlets will also be repositioned into a sports-themed shopping complex.

 

Societe Generale, a French investment bank and financial services company, estimates that about 70 million to 80 million people have become unemployed, raising the urban unemployment rate to about 17 percent, according to a report released this week. "