Very conservative gearing policy and strong liquidity High-quality portfolio of shopping-center assets Favorable competitive position due to town-planning restrictions in Australia Portfolio diversification by geography, asset, tenant, and length of lease Ongoing capital-expenditure requirements for center expansions and development Exposure to discretionary consumer spending and tenant-demand cycles The ratings on Australian Prime Property Fund Retail (APPF Retail) reflect our view of the fund's very conservative financial policies, which emanate from its strategy to be primarily equity-funded, resulting in very low gearing and a manageable refinancing task through capital-market cycles. The ratings on APPF Retail also reflect our view of the fund's strong business risk profile, which is underpinned by solid asset quality and our expectation of a stable retail portfolio
