Glomac to launch REIT in Thailand by October

PROPERTY developer Glomac Bhd plans to launch a 1.5 billion baht (RM158.70 million) real estate investment trust (REIT) in Thailand by October.

Business Times understands that it will launch the REIT with its partner Warehouse Asia Alliance Company Ltd (WAA), a leading Thai company in warehousing and logistics services.

The main-board developer and WAA will initially inject a 600,000 sq ft warehouse near the Bangna-Trad highway in the Samutprakarn province in Bangkok, worth RM150 million, into the REIT.

The warehouse, which is 49 per cent owned by Glomac and 51 per cent by WAA, was constructed by the two firms for RM125 million in April.

It is currently fully tenanted to Diethelm Ltd, an international pharmaceutical company, for 15 years, with rental yield of 13 per cent.

The source said Glomac and WAA will increase the REIT size, possibly to six or seven billion Thai baht in three to four years.

Glomac group executive vice-chairman Datuk Richard Fong and group managing director Datuk Fateh Iskandar Mansor were not available for comment at press time.

"The two firms want to set up similar warehouses in Thailand as it is a profitable business and there is demand. They are looking for land in Bangkok and may finalise a deal soon," the source said.

Fateh had said that Glomac had received offers from several multinational firms involved in automotives and pharmaceuticals to build more warehouses and distribution centres in Thailand.

He said the logistics and distribution businesses are picking up in Thailand, especially those near Suvarnabhumi Airport.

Thailand is the second overseas venture for Glomac after Australia, which is contributing marginally to group revenue.

By New Straits Times (by Sharen Kaur)