Listen to this article
The Indian REITs Association (IRA) said that they have requested SEBI to classify Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITS) as an equity asset.
The association feels that such a recognition will help the asset class become more popular among investors, attract more money through passive funds and get a favourable tax treatment.
While REITs are not classified as equity or debt in the current scenario, many investors feel that REITs are similar to hybrid funds as they give regular income through dividend and offer capital gains through appreciation.
This was discussed at the first CEO roundtable of IRA held today in Mumbai. Alok Aggarwal, MD and CEO of Brookfield India Real Estate Trust, Aravind Maiya, CEO of Embassy REIT, Ramesh Nair, CEO of Mindspace Business Parks REIT and Dalip Sehgal, CEO of Nexus Select Trust spoke at the panel discussion moderated by Sundareswaran S, MD, Morgan Stanley.
Launched in 2019, the Indian REIT industry manages AUM of Rs.1.30 lakh crore. Over 2 lakh investors have participated in growth story of real estate through REITs.
The association said that in just five years, REITs have distributed more than Rs.15,500 crore through dividend surpassing the entire NIFTY Realty Index.
Brookfield India Real Estate Trust (BIRET), Embassy REIT, Mindspace Business Parks REIT, and Nexus Select Trust are the founding members of the IRA.
IRA was formed to strengthen the operating and regulatory environment for the Indian REIT market, deepen the capital markets and increase investor education programs among others.