Thought Leadership

We are happy to share our member, MSCI, model: MSCI Real Estate Climate Value-at-Risk (Climate VaR) model that demonstrates how the nature and magnitude of physical risks may differ across assets and portfolios; and highlight the importance of considering.

As the world struggles to contain the COVID-19 outbreak, global travel has practically ground to a halt, impacting retail and travel related industries. Estimates by the United Nations point to the global economy slowing to under 2 per cent in 2020, costing some USD 1 trillion. There has not been any precedent with an equivalent scale of economic disruption in recent times to guide policymakers across the globe. The typical responses to this outbreak across the world thus far involve containment, social distancing, and economic support through fiscal and monetary measures to help cushion the financial fallout. The World Bank, for example, has set aside a USD 14 billion package to help companies and countries in their efforts to fight the spread of COVID-19.

In the past decade, the rise and fall of mainland Chinese investment in global real estate markets has created quite a stir amongst the international real estate community. However, in recent years overseas real estate investment activities of this group of investors has shifted from overseas acquisitions to disposals, with 2019’s total overseas investment volume down 79% since the peak in 2017. 

近十年来，中国内地境外地产投资的起伏，在国际房地产界掀起了不小的波澜。最近两年，境外房地产主流投资活动已 从收购转向处置。2019年，中国内地境外地产总投资额较2017年峰值下降79%。
 

Many business owners (private sector, public sector and public listed) have traditionally owned their real estate. These typically include factory operations coupled with offices and warehouses. While, in some cases, the real estate may have become non-core, in other cases such real estate is essential for the business operations. 

Arising from the need to social distance to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, the question that arises in the minds of many will be the state of the co-working industry in a possible new epoch. 

One of the greatest uncertainties we face today surrounds the trade-off between minimizing the human cost from the coronavirus and restarting the economy.  Much of the world economy remains shut down, and consequently, economic distress arising from the coronavirus crisis has been pervasive.  And rightfully, governments around the world have announced an unprecedented program of stimulus, support, rescue and regulatory relief in response to the economic impact of the effort to combat the pandemic.
 

Business Trusts may invest in a number of Holding companies/ SPVs and it is likely that there may be surplus funds available in one Holding company/ SPV which can be productively lent to another Holding company/ SPV.  Considering provisions of Section 2(22)(e), such loans may have adverse tax implications.  Provisions of Section 2(22)(e) do not apply to a listed company or its subsidiary.  Since units of a Business Trust shall be listed and the Holding company/ SPV is its subsidiary, exemption from Section 2(22)(e) should be available to such Holding companies/ SPVs as they are available to a listed company or its subsidiary. 

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 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. 

We hereby state that pursuant to declaration of COVID-19 as a ‘Pandemic’ by the World Health Organisation (WHO), Government Of India (GOI) has invoked the provisions of Section 2 of the Epidemic Disease Act, 1897 in order to curb the spread of COVID-19. Further, as a precautionary measure, as required to arrest the spread, various State Governments have ordered complete shut-down of shopping centres, malls, multiplexes/cinema halls, hotels, industrial and warehouse parks  and  private / corporate offices except those providing essential services from March 20, 2020 onwards. This has been further extended due to complete lockdown by Central Government across India until Mid April, 2020, with a possibility of further extension as exact time frame for controlling this Pandemic cannot be defined.