Pak to be 1st emerging market to start REITs --(SECP)

Commissioner of Securities Exchange Corporation of Pakistan (SECP) Salman Ali Shaikh said on Wednesday that Pakistan will be the first emerging market to initiate Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs). "The objective of REITs is anchored around the concept to introduce an alternative asset class with the purpose to add depth to the capital market and provide transparency to real estate sector in the form of comprehensive disclosures and accountability through a trust mechanism ingrained in the REITs Regulations," he said at SECP consultative meeting held to discuss REITs Regulations, 2007 in Lahore on Wednesday. The session was a sequel to the earlier one held in Karachi on August 9, 2007. The participants of the meeting included prominent lawyers, chartered accountants, real estate developers, constructors, surveyors, valuers, project managers and representatives from the Punjab Government.