“STATE-OWNED fund manager Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) plans to launch a RM1 billion property trust in the next few months, sources told Business Times.

The real estate investment trust (REIT), which will be its third, will house assets like the recently acquired MAS building, PNB Darby Park in the city centre and several buildings that it owns in Damansara.”

[PNB is now operating two REITs, namely Amanah Harta Tanah PNB (AHP) and Amanah Harta Tanah PNB 2 (AHP2).]
Incidentally, if you have forgotten that recently, Al-’Aqar KPJ REIT was the first Islamic REIT in the world that was approved and issued under a set of clear and transparent Syariah guidelines.

Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop had said that Islamic REITs will attract foreign investors, in particular from the Middle East, to invest in Malaysia’s property market. He noted that investible wealth in the Middle East was large, estimated at some US$1 trillion (RM3.65 trillion).

Malaysia aims to be a hub for Islamic finance, and it seeks to attract funds from Middle East investors who are benefiting from current high oil prices.

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