KIP REIT believes that owning community-centric retail centres will give it an edge with investors. The REIT debuted on the Main Market at a four-sen premium yesterday on a volume of 1.78 million shares

KUALA LUMPUR: In a stock exchange where real estate investment trusts (REITs) own assets as varied as commercial, office, industrial, hotel and plantation properties, a REIT listing will have to “stand out” in terms of portfolio to get the attention of investors.

KIP REIT believes that owning community-centric retail centres will give it an edge with investors. The REIT debuted on the Main Market at a four-sen premium yesterday on a volume of 1.78 million shares.

These centres generally cater to the lower and medium-income groups for the retail of fresh produce, daily necessities and essentials.

“Our investment strategy is anchored upon the consumer need for value-for-money products and services, especially in the current economic climate.

“Having a broad tenant base comprising small and medium traders of the local community, KIP Marts and malls provide a platform for business opportunity, in terms of environment and support in marketing and advertising, as well as promotions.

“This enables traders to be more competitive, as compared to traditional trade in wet markets,” said KIP REIT Management Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Lim Han Gie after the listing.

KIP REIT raised a total of RM234.2mil during its initial public offering for the acquisition of the initial portfolio, consisting of five KIP Marts located in Tampoi, Kota Tinggi, Masai, Senawang and Melaka, as well as KIP Mall in Bangi.

Going forward, KIP REIT intends to expand the network of KIP Marts over the next five years, as it has the first right of refusal to potentially acquire five new KIP Marts in Johor, Pahang, Kedah, Selangor and Negri Sembilan.

To date, KIP Mart Kota Warisan has been completed and will be fully operational by the middle of this year.

Meanwhile, four more KIP Marts are in various stages of construction or approval.

“After the Kota Warisan mart is up and running, the next mart to be developed will be in Sungai Buloh, followed by Kuantan.

“We will run these KIP Marts’ operations for several years before injecting them (assets) into our portfolio,” added Lim.

Despite being fully focused on KIP Marts and Malls as REIT assets currently, Lim did not turn down the possibility of injecting other types of retail assets into KIP REIT.

[slider id='81590' name='StarProperty' size='full']

Follow us on Wechat or Facebook for the latest updates.

Download StarProperty.my e-Mag(bit.ly/StarProperty_Emag) for more articles.

Want to contribute articles to StarProperty.my? Email editor@starproperty.my.