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As the REIT regime has been expanding globally, corporate governance practices in emerging REIT markets have become a major concern for domestic and international investors alike. Idiosyncrasies stemming from the ownership models applied in Asian economies and the fact Asian REITs are often externally managed “captive entities” make issues pertaining to corporate governance of the listed real estate sector in Asia all the more important. To address these issues, the paper introduces an original framework that can be used to estimate the quality of corporate governance among externally managed Asian REITs. As a pilot study, the framework is applied to define a corporate governance index of REITs listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange (S-REITs). The index called R-Index enables the ranking of S-REITs’ corporate governance practices. It is then used to examine the relationship between corporate governance and the performance of S-REITs. The empirical tests based on several performance-related metrics provide evidence supporting a positive correlation between corporate governance practices identified in the R-Index and stock performances. However, we find no positive correlation with operating performance proxied by accounting measures. In other words, S-REITs with higher corporate governance tend to register better risk-adjusted returns but do not outperform operationally. To test for market efficiency, the study shows that S-REITs with the best corporate governance practices also have less information asymmetry.
Download the Report Read More2020 was a challenging year for Philippine real estate and the global property market, but we see the new year as a promising time for sectors such as industrial & logistics, office, residential, REITs, and data centers, among others. The industrial & logistics sector was the most stable asset class in the past year, and there are huge opportunities in the e-commerce and the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines. The office sector is likely to perform better than 2020, while we anticipate residential real estate to exhibit a slow but gradual rebound.
In 2021, macrotrends such as the boom of e-commerce, flexible office setups, and continued decentralization outside Metro Manila
are likely to continue and contribute to the property market’s soft recovery.
The Philippine population, which has grown at 1.5% on average each year since 2015, is key to recovery. This growth has created a “demographic sweet spot” and continues to drive consumption and, in particular, the expansion of online retail and the related logistics platforms. The young Philippine population will also continue to keep the country at the forefront of the global BPO industry as outsourcing continues to increase.
Download the Report Read MoreGlobal Economy
Indian Economy
Outlook
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During 2020, private-equity investments into the Indian real estate sector declined 23% from2019. At this juncture, investors are also eyeing alternate assets, as well as projects that require last-mile funding. Investment firms and global developers are undertaking development risks in India and constructing office parks.
> We recommend investors fund stalled projects in the final stages of construction. These projects mitigate risks as project approvals are already in place.
> We also recommend investors focus on logistics and datacenter assets to take advantage of the growth in these sectors by converting them into a Real estate investment Trust (REIT)offering.
Download the Report Read MoreMany institutional investors are facing their greatest challenges for many years. They are transforming their investment processes at high speed to reflect today’s imperatives, such as environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing, innovative technology, ever-shifting regulations and demands for greater transparency. Yet they must do this in a complex and unstable financial environment. I compare this challenge to changing the sails and masts of a ship as it is battered by a storm. For this report, we surveyed 200 asset owners (pension funds, insurers, sovereign wealth funds and endowments/foundations) owning assets of around $18 trillion. Reading it, I was struck by how the pandemic has further accelerated the shift to ESG. Asked for the top 3 trends that will affect their organization over the next three to five years, 62% cited either climate change or the increasing complexity of ESG measurement — far ahead of other themes such as market volatility and regulation. But it is not the only transformation. A new wave of data technologies is bringing very significant changes to investment processes. These technologies open the door to new ways of understanding markets and increasing efficiency.
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