Thought Leadership

In this challenging time as COVID-19 impacts workplace operations globally, we break down how occupiers can engage with flexible workspace operators, as both a near-term business continuity solution and longer-term way of working for enterprises. We also set out steps for flexible workspace operators on how to maintain operations and protect the health and wellbeing of members at this time.

For commercial real estate, the price declines needed to inspire buyers to come back to the market need not be as extreme as the 22% drop in the RCA CPPI seen from ’07 to ’10 during the Global Financial Crisis. Consider the office market in Manhattan in 2017. The top of the bidder pool disappeared as Chinese investors stepped away from the market and office sales plummeted as buyers and sellers wondered where the bottom would be found. A 20 bps change in cap rates, though, was enough to inspire buyers to come off the sidelines.

Since each VPO is expected to conduct an examination of a member prior to issue of a certificate of practice, the Registration Authority may recognise the examination conducted by the VPO, dispensing with the need for the Valuation Examination in terms of Rule 5(1) (a) to be conducted by the Registration Authority.

The Finance Bill 2020 proposes to levy tax on the dividend paid by InvITs/ REITs to the unitholders in the hands of the unitholders, which was until this proposed amendment exempt from tax. An efficient tax structure provided under the Income Tax Act 1961 enabled the successful listing of two public InvITs in 2017, two privately placed but listed InvITs and India’s first REIT in April 2019 which attracted investment from large long-term foreign investors and also domestic institutional investors.