AmanahRaya real estate investment trust (AR-REIT) has become Malaysia’s second largest REIT after Starhill REIT in terms of asset size at about RM649mil, following the injection of five new properties.[ Starhill REIT has over Rm1bil of asset size in Malaysia.]According to the manager of AR-REIT, AmanahRaya-JMF Asset Management Sdn Bhd (AJMF) managing director Datuk Mohamed Azahari Kamil:

• The total of 13 properties give a net property yield of 7.4% to 7.5%,

• AR-REIT has a diversified portfolio mix of education (31%), industrial (29%), commercial (27%) and hospitality (7%) assets,

• The addition of the five new properties worth RM308.67mil would provide unitholders stable distribution and growth in the net asset value per unit of AR-REIT. This additional five assets were public listed companies that provided stable distribution to unitholders. The five new properties are the Tamadam bonded warehouse in Port Klang, the Silverbird factory in Shah Alam, AIC Corp Bhd’s factory in Shah Alam, Segi College in Kota Damansara and Naza warehouse in Gurun

• 70% of its proposed private placement of up 100 million units in AR-REIT was allocated to foreign investors. This proposed placement was approved by its unitholders at the company EGM yesterday and to be used to finance the proposed acquisitions and improve AR-REIT’s trading liquidity.

• The proposed placement would be 73.6% funded by equity and the remainder by debt,

• AR-REIT hoped to reduce its gearing to 36.9% after the proposed placement from 46.3% currently and would stand at 37.2% after the proposed acquisition of the five assets. The exercise is expected to be completed by year-end.

• AR-REIT would also acquire one to two commercial projects in the Klang Valley and the city centre,

       (The Star Malaysia 27/10/07)

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