Deal activity in 'tariff-resistant' sectors revived by IPOs, market consolidations

Singapore's dormant telecommunications sector is expected to awaken.

‘Tariff-resistant’ sectors such as real estate are set to remain attractive for Singaporean investors, with interest in Australian properties expected to grow further this year, a report by MinterEllison said.

Initial public offerings from real estate investment trusts NTT DCC REIT and Centurion Accommodation REIT are expected to fuel growth in real estate investments.

“We expect Australia to continue to attract such investments, as evidenced by Centurion Accommodation's acquisition in January 2026 of its first PBSA asset in Sydney for $309.08m (A$345m),” MinterEllison said.

Meanwhile, news of UI Boustead, another Singapore-based REIT, looking to raise proceeds of around $900m in 2026 in a proposed IPO on the Singapore Exchange, may mean abundant liquidity and momentum from acquisition-hungry REITs will make real estate a hot sector for M&A activity in 2026

Telco consolidation

The telco sector will see increased activity, following Simba’s acquisition of M1 to trigger a cascading effect on Singapore's telco industry.

Pre-empting the trend to consolidate, StarHub which already owned the majority stake in MyRepublic's Singapore broadband business, completed the acquisition of the entire remaining stake of the broadband player in August 2025.

MinterEllison predicts that if the Infocomm Media Development Authority approves the merger, the remaining telcos may also look at M&A options to defend their market share. If not, other targets may come into play to achieve growth.

“Either way, the announcement of the acquisition has awoken what was a fairly dormant sector in Singapore and deal activity in this sector is expected to increase in 2026,” the report said.

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