MIDF plans bigger industrial properties to woo REITs

KUALA LUMPUR: MIDF Property Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB), plans to build bigger state-of-art industrial properties in a bid to sell them to local real estate investment funds (REITs).

Source from (Business Times): http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/emdi/Article/index_html
Published: February 08, 2013


Its general manager Mohd Yusoff Abdullah said that MIDF is planning to work with several companies under PNB, which own over 4,000 acres of land collectively, to build the properties on the land that they own.

"With only 62.5ha in our pocket, we are running short of land. We have made known our intention to the PNB subsidiaries to jointly build industrial properties on their land," Mohd Yusoff told Business Times in an interview recently.

He said MIDF will either develop the land jointly with the companies or buy the land from them and build on its own.

However, Mohd Yusoff declined to disclosed the name of the companies that MIDF was talking to.

"We are planning to synergise and create catalyst industrial developments with them by adding value on their land. We are still discussing the matter," he said.

Mohd Yusoff added that the ultimate aim is to start selling industrial properties built by MIDF to local REIT managers.

"We are considering selling some of the assets to REIT managers here. That is the next growth for MIDF. The idea is also to unlock the value of the land owned by the PNB subsidiaries," he said.

Mohd Yusoff expects companies like Axis REIT Managers Bhd, the manager of Axis Real Estate Investment Trust (Axis REIT), to look at the possibility of buying the industrial properties from MIDF in the long run.

Axis REIT is the world's first office/industrial Islamic REIT and Bursa Malaysia's maiden listed REIT. It has 31 properties worth RM1.52 billion in its portfolio and is looking to buy more assets.

Incorporated in 1964, MIDF's(formerly Malaysia Industrial Estates Bhd) role is to act as a catalyst for Malaysia's industrialisation and contribute towards the development of small- and medium-sized industries.

As Malaysia's premier industrial park developer, MIDF has so far built 3,095 units of industrial units in 49 locations nationwide with an investment exceeding RM1.21 billion as at January 1 2012.