Thailand’s local exchange is eyeing foreign companies to list in with an optimistic outlook for Southeast Asian companies to consider floating real estate investment trusts.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand has approached owners of a myriad of properties including hotels, offices and malls in Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar for opportunities to tap its capital markets.
«A number of businesses have expressed interest in fundraising through asset spin-offs such as REITs,» said Manpong Senanarong, head of the exchange’s issuer marketing division, in a «Bloomberg» report. «Their stable income and high growth would attract Thai investors to those new securities.»
Alternatives
According to Manpong, low interest rates and slumping equity markets have left investors seeking for alternatives which could be found through exposure to foreign real estate. And for issuers, spinning off assets would be easier to raise funds than through an IPO of a whole company.
Of the aforementioned countries, Myanmar has the highest potential for new issuers due to a large population, high growth and demand for capital coupled with an underdeveloped financial system, Manpong noted.
