Number of Asian REITs likely to grow

In just the past five years, the market capitalization of Asian REITs has more than doubled to top $148.6 billion in fourth quarter 2013, helped in large part from the now 114 total listed REITs in Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan tracked by the recent fourth quarter 2014 release of The Asian REIT Report.

During fourth quarter 2013, Japanese REITs, numbering 43 total, accounted for nearly half of the total Asian REIT market cap, at $72.9 billion, followed by Singapore REITs, with the city-state’s 32 REITs holding $45 billion in market cap.

J-REITs — buoyed during 2013 on the heels of Abenomics and the announcement that Tokyo would host the 2020 Olympic Games — accounted for six of the top 10 best-performing REITs during the fourth quarter. The best-performing REIT, Japan-based Invincible Investment Corp., had a total ret