Bernama
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 24 (Bernama) -- More foreign investors are interested to invest in real estate investment trusts (REITs) in the region.
AmanahRaya-JMF Asset Management Sdn Bhd managing director, Datuk Mohamed Azahari Mohamed Kamil, said currently, Singapore and Malaysia dominated the REIT markets in South-East Asia with a total market capitalisation of approximately US$22 billion (US$1=RM3.27).
He said this at REIT Review Asia 2008 conference in Singapore on Tuesday.
He said yield for Malaysian REITs of seven percent was considered attractive to investors, especially for those who sought long-term stable returns on investments in the real estate sector.
"With 11 REITs listed on the Bursa Malaysia with a total market capitalisation of US$1.6 billion, there is lot of growth potential especially in terms of more acquisitions of more assets by the existing REITs as well as new REITs to be listed in future.
"There is also Middle East interest to list their properties through REITs in Malaysia and Singapore," he said.
He said AmanahRaya, as one of the leading REIT players with assets of RM645.52 million, hoped that the market would continue to grow this year.
"AmanahRaya will be one of the active contributors towards the growth of regional REITs through its recent collaboration with Gapuraprima Group, an Indonesian developer listed on the Jakarta Stock Exchange," he said.
Mohamed Azahari said the company expected an increase in the market capitalisation in Singapore and Malaysia and was confident more investors would consider investing in REITs.
"With the recent sub-prime, credit crunch and banking crisis, there will be opportunities for asset managers to conduct portfolio rebalancing and we believe that REITs will continue to be preferred.
Disclaimer: Reading materials in this site are obtained from its respective website and it is for information purposes only. It is not Malaysia Unit Trusts - administrator view and it is not to be used against Malaysia Unit Trusts - administrator.
