GIREM, India’s Largest Real Estate & Urban Planning Leadership Summit, today announced that Mr. Jerry Koh, Partner, Allen & Gledhill LLP will address the realty industry and share valuable insights on “The Road to REITs [Real Estate Investment Trusts] and Private Equity” at the GIREM. Mr. Jerry Koh is an expert in the field of REITs and heads the Allen & Gledhill's Property Funds and Securitisation Practice Groups.

GIREM, a global platform, will be held from 14 – 16 May, 2008, at GOA. The event will bring together all stakeholders of Real Estate and Urban Planning at the very scenic beach front of Holiday Inn, GOA. The theme for the inaugural year is “where opportunities meet”.

REITs [Real Estate Investment Trusts] are vehicles that own and manage a portfolio of real estate properties and mortgages. Anyone can buy shares in a publicly traded REIT. They offer the benefits of real estate ownership without the headaches or expense of being a landlord. Unlike actual real estate property, these shares can be quickly and easily sold. Investing in a portfolio of properties rather than just a single building means that financial risk is significantly reduced.

Mr. Jerry Koh, Partner, Allen & Gledhill LLP said, “In the past 10 years, REITs have changed the landscape of investments in the real estate industry globally. REITs ensure investors liquidity while investing in different real estate. I intend to address the realty industry at GIREM on the new opportunities and challenges that REITs would throw open in India.”

Mr. Shyam Sundar, Executive Director, Triple Tree said, “The Government of India and SEBI is in the process of easing norms of investing in real estate companies directly and indirectly. Once introduced, Indian REITs will help individual investors to enjoy the benefits of booming real estate economy by owning an interest in the securitised real estate market. Mr. Jerry Koh is the finest resource person in the world today to give an insight on REITs. GIREM is privileged to bring him and his leadership talk would give the realty industry in India guidance on attracting direct and indirect investments.”

Jerry Koh heads the Allen & Gledhill's Property Funds and Securitisation Practice Groups. He has experience in international debt and equity offerings, as well as mergers and acquisitions. Jerry has advised most of the Singapore REITs (S-REITs), including the initial public offerings of CapitaMall Trust, Ascendas Real Estate Investment Trust, Fortune Real Estate Investment Trust, Suntec Real Estate Investment Trust, Mapletree Logistics Trust, Macquarie MEAG Prime Real Estate Investment Trust, Allco Commercial Real Estate Investment Trust, Frasers Centrepoint Trust, CDL Hospitality Trusts, CapitaRetail China Trust, First REIT, MacarthurCook Industrial REIT, Saizen REIT, Lippo-Mappletree Indonesia Retail Trust, Ascendas India Trust and the establishment and introduction of CapitaCommercial Trust and K-REIT Asia on the Singapore Exchange.

Jerry was also involved in almost all the secondary offerings by the S-REITs to date. He was involved in the initial public offerings of Pacific Shipping Trust, the first business trust registered in Singapore, MacarthurCook Securities Fund, Rickmers Maritime and Ascendas India Trust.

Jerry has also advised numerous property securitization (both rated and unrated) transactions involving Raffles City, Wisma Atria, Compass Point, Capital Square, Cote d’Azur, Metro Holdings Limited’s 27 per cent stake in Ngee Ann City, CapitaRetail Singapore, Jurong Point, the properties held by CapitaMall Trust, Ascendas Real Estate Investment Trust, CapitaCommercial Trust, Suntec Real Estate Investment Trust, Fortune Real Estate Investment Trust, Macquarie MEAG Prime Real Estate Investment Trust and RCS Trust.

GIREM has been designed with focus on fostering partnerships and deals. The summit combined with Exhibitions, Leadership Talks, Urban Planning panel discussions and Leadership Awards for corporate excellence is all set to become a world class event. GIREM, a Triple Tree event, will bring together Developers, Corporate consumers, Hotel Groups, Retail Groups, Investors, Architects, Urban Planners and Policy Makers from across India and World. At GIREM, 2,000 key players and decision-makers will meet, exchange ideas and do business under cordial environment.

Sourced From: Equator Communications