REIT managers team up to form association

The managers of 11 Malaysian real estate investment trusts (REITs) have teamed up to set up the Malaysian REIT Managers Association (M-REITMA), allowing players in the sector to work closer with the authorities to grow the industry.

"For the purpose of registration with the Registrar of Societies (ROS), we have proceeded to form a protem committee comprising seed members from Am ARA REIT Managers Sdn Bhd and Axis REIT Managers Bhd when we handed in our application to register the association to the ROS on September 4," said protem committee chairman Steward Labrooy of Axis REIT in a statement.

"Without an official association representing members of the local REIT industry, it soon became apparent to all of us that we were unable to have effective dialogues with the regulators and the Ministry of Finance in order to communicate the issues facing the industry and to propose changes," it added.

The association, currently pending approval from ROS, will comprise AmFirst REIT, AmanahRaya REIT, Atrium REIT, Axis-REIT, Al-Hadharah Boustead REIT, Al-Aqar KPJ REIT, Hektar REIT, Quill Capita Trust, UOA REIT, Tower REIT and Starhill REIT.
The REIT sector is now over four years old, with the first REIT having listed in August 2005. Today, there are 13 listed REITS with a market capitalisation of RM5.4 billion.

By Business Times