Daiwa Real Estate to Boost REIT Assets by 25% in 3 Years, President Says

Daiwa Real Estate to Boost REIT Assets by 25% in 3 Years, President Says
Daiwa Real Estate Asset Management Co., a unit of Japan’s second-biggest brokerage, plans to boost assets in its real estate investment trust by a quarter to about 350 billion yen ($4.2 billion) as it bets the nation’s property market has bottomed.


The property unit of Daiwa Securities Group Inc. is seeking to lure investors by arguing that the yield on the Tokyo Stock Exchange REIT Index offers attractive return after the gauge dropped about 60 percent from a 2007 peak. The difference between 10-year Japanese government bonds and REITs stood at 5 percent as of Oct. 31, almost five times the 1.1 percent in the U.S., and about three times the 1.7 percent in Europe, according to an estimate by Credit Suisse Securities (Japan) Ltd.

“When you compare the yield spreads in Japan and those in other international markets, Japan offers the best return ever,” Yamanouchi said in an interview on Nov. 16. “We expect that trend to continue and we are keen to capture growth in this market.”