A new organisation for investors in Asian listed real estate, modeled on the European Public Real Estate Association (EPRA) is to be launched this year.
APREA, the Asian Public Real Estate Association, is recruiting members and is set to launch in July. The new not-for-profit body will be dedicated to improving the transparency and understanding of Asian quoted real estate, which currently forms 30% of the EPRA/NAREIT global index.
Richard Cruickshank of PIR research in Australia said: “Unfortunately Asia (the fastest growing and most populous region) is not represented on the global real estate stage. This situation effectively leaves a black hole in the global real estate investment universe.”
The main countries APREA will be involved in are Australia, China, Singapore, Philippines, Japan, India, Korea, Taiwan, New Zealand, Thailand, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Malaysia.
APREA says it intends to:
n Establish a more compatible environment to encourage further investment into high quality property investments between member nations;
n Design a framework for the real estate funds industry growth through co-ordination of investment activities and networking within the region;
n Provide quality research and information for both regional and international investors;
n Encourage market research and databases that can be practically utilised by members;
n Develop common practical
standards that meet with international best practice, especially in the area
of financial reporting, disclosure
and corporate governance.
AFIRE chief executive Jim Fetgatter said: “The most recent AFIRE Investment Survey of its members shows a growing percentage of their global real estate portfolios and their future investment strategies are focused in Asia. We view the establishment of an association for public real estate companies in Asia to be essential to foster a continued inflow of international capital.
“The foreign investor is concerned about transparency and credibility and lacks the informal network of information available to the local investors.”

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