The one that started it all

WITH a total market capitalisation of almost $61 billion as at November, Singapore's Reit and business trust (BT) market has come a long way.

But ask pioneers who helped seed the ground at the turn of the century, and they would be quick to point out that the successes enjoyed by today's Reit and BT market is the result of great perseverance and forward planning by the regulators, authorities and players involved.

The foundation stone was laid in 1999 when the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) first released guidelines for the formation of S-Reits, recalled Michael Smith, head of Asia ex-Japan real estate investment banking at Goldman Sachs.

While this paved the road for S-Reits, the issue of tax transparency was not addressed initially, said Mr Smith, who was part of the working group that lobbied for reg…