AREIT “remains an attractive buy” - COL Head of Research April Lee Tan

The Philippines’ maiden listing of a real estate investment trust happened Thursday but there was no cheer.

Ayala-backed AREIT Inc. went against a wider bullish market and sank nearly 8% on its debut, the latest victim of the broader economic uncertainty that the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has perpetuated.

For April Lee Tan, research head at COL Financial, AREIT “remains an attractive buy” for investors looking for dividends with high yields, which she said are unlikely to go down “at least for the next two years.”

“The lease contracts of AREIT’s tenants are locked in for the next few years. Their office buildings are also (Philippine Economic Zone Authority)-accredited making them very lucrative since PEZA is no longer releasing accreditations for new buildings,” she explained, referring to the country’s biggest economic zone operator.

AREIT’s bearish trade bucked a benchmark that danced to a regional upbeat mood. The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index jumped back to 6,000 territory, to close up 1.71% at 6,097.78. All sub-indices, except services, were in the green. Foreigners were net buyers of some P3.74 billion shares.

Source: Peso Economics