Friday 29 Mar 2024
By
main news image

KUALA LUMPUR: Axis Real Estate Investment Trust (Axis-REIT) has set a new assets under management (AUM) target of RM3 billion, after breaking the RM2 billion mark.

Axis-REIT Managers Bhd chief executive officer and executive director Datuk Stewart LaBrooy expects the RM3 billion target to be achieved via acquisitions within the next three years.

“Having a size like this does help us a lot in terms of capital raising. We can now build bigger pools of cash to work with and we could acquire more successfully,” he told a news conference to announce the group’s fourth-quarter 2014 results yesterday.

“We see value deals coming into the market. We think there are going to be lots of opportunities to buy (more assets) in the second half of this year,” said Labrooy.

Axis-REIT (fundamental: 1.3; valuation: 0.5) now owns 33 properties, both commercial and industrial, across Malaysia.

LaBrooy said the group is capable of raising up to RM450 million through private placements of new shares in the property trust to finance more property purchases.

The funds are expected to partially finance planned acquisitions of three industrial properties in Penang this year. The deals have a collective estimated value of RM160 million.

LaBrooy said the Penang acquisitions comprise two industrial facilities, one each in Seberang Prai and Bayan Lepas, and a warehouse in Seberang Prai.

“There are a lot of investments going into Penang and the whole place is going to really sparkle. Taking positions in Penang is really the smart thing to do,” he said.

On its plans for the remaining RM290 million to be raised, Labrooy said the acquisition targets disclosed are what the group is focusing on now.

The group is also waiting for the Securities Commission’s approval to expand its existing Islamic bond or sukuk programme, said Axis-REIT Managers chief operating officer Leong Kit May.

Axis-REIT plans to expand its 15-year RM300 million sukuk programme into a RM3 billion perpetual scheme.

“We’ve taken the opportunity to upsize the programme instead of issuing a fresh sukuk,” said Leong.

 

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on January 21, 2015.

      Print
      Text Size
      Share