APPII’s (Portuguese Association of Real Estate Investors and Developers) Second Great Conference (II Grande Conferência APPII) took place on the 11th of April with several professionals and specialists from the sector debating «Great urban renewal projects’ investments and SIGIs ( Portuguese REITs)» at Pátio da Galé.
Isabel Ucha, Euronext's CEO, João Cristina, from REIT Merlin Properties, José Araújo, director DCEI Millennium BCP, Antonio Fernández Hernando, Armanext’s CEO and Luís Martín Guirado, business director at Gesvalt, took part in the round table moderated by Hugo Santos Ferreira.
Offering the Spanish experience’s point of view, since Spain has had SOCIMIs (Spanish REITs) for several years, Martín Guirado remarked that these REIT regimes started «when no one was buying anything. Fortunately, Lisbon is currently a trendy city, the capital is already here, and this mechanism will be a plus for investors».
Antonio Fernández Hernando agrees that this is «a first-class destination», with no shortage of demand: «we didn’t feel any loss in terms of interest on the market», points out José Araújo, according to whom «the capital’s origin is diversified, which is good for the banks. We look favorably at the Portuguese real estate market», he completes.
João Cristina also attests that «there is a very strong demand» in Portugal, and he believes that the REIT regime has the advantage of being similar to those in other countries. He predicts that «initially it will be the institutional investors who will invest in the SIGIs and they will soon be followed by small investors».
Isabel Ucha noted that REITs «are an instrument that has been very dynamic in the Euronext markets. We currently have 91 companies listed, with a 125.000 million euro capitalization. It allows for a great diversity in investors and investment categories», she also added that she was «confident» about the start of the regime in Portugal.
Isabel Uchua further added that «the SIGI regime compares well with the international models, in particular in terms of the tax regime, which is transparent and the taxation falls on the investors rather than the companies’ income. The law in itself is simple», she highlighted on the positive side.