KUALA LUMPUR, June 13 — Hektar Real Estate Investment Trust (Hektar REIT) has received approval from its unit-holders to use up to 61 million new units to partly-finance the proposed acquisition of 1Segamat Shopping Centre.
In a statement today, the company said, the proposal to acquire the only purpose-built mall in the town of Segamat (Johor), was in line with the the company’s objectives to invest in strategic real estate assets involved in retail, to diversify and expand its current portfolio.
It said through the acquisition of real estate assets with strong recurring rental income such as 1Segamat Shopping Centre, Hektar REIT provided its unit-holders with a long-term opportunity for sustainable distribution of income and potential capital growth.
Hektar Asset Management Sdn Bhd Chief Executive Officer and Asset Manager of Hektar REIT, Datuk Hisham Othman, said the mall was strategically located with high traffic concentration and good accessibility via the main bus terminal and railway station.
“One important consideration in deciding to acquire the mall was opportunities to create further value through an additional lettable area, one of the criteria REIT is looking for the long term,” he said.
Hisham said the company’s immediate concentration, however, upon securing the property, was to improve efficiency in tenant management and optimise rental returns. Hence, tenancy mix remains a critical factor in ensuring the success of the malls within its portfolio, he added.
Hektar REIT’s portfolio of shopping malls includes Subang Parade in Subang Jaya (Selangor), Mahkota Parade (Melaka), Wetex Parade in Muar (Johor) Central Square in Sungai Petani (Kedah) and Landmark Central in Kulim (Kedah).
The portfolio’s catchment serves a market size of three million residences, it said.
As at Dec 31, 2016, the company said it had an average occupancy of 96 per cent and recorded over 30 million shopper visits per annum with net lettable area of 1.8 million sq ft, with RM1.09 billion market valuation.