Centre for Asset Securitisation in Asia (CASA)

REITs in Asia : The New Equity Paradigm

REITs are in operation in quite a few Asian countries including Hong Kong , Japan , Singapore , Taiwan , Korea , Thailand and Malaysia , with varying performances relative to the expectations at the time of their launching. China is said to be nearing the introduction of a REIT legislation and the Philippines is considering one. Asian REITs markets suffered their deepest fall ever in the second half of 2008 in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, but managed to bounce back in the first half of 2009. In light of the banking sector and debt market crises, REITs are becoming more important as a potential source of capital. On the other hand, uncertainties in the commercial real estate sector make the near-term prospects for REITs unclear. Furthermore, we need to look beyond to explore the role of REITs as a new equity paradigm in the broad context of real estate finance in Asia . In this regard, this forum organized by CASA is very opportune and relevant. It features a paper on the linkage between REITs and underlying real estate markets and a presentation on Asian REITs markets, followed by a roundtable discussion among academic researchers and industry experts.

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