MREIT, Inc., the real estate investment trust sponsored by Megaworld Corporation, is looking out assets outside Metro Manila as it assured that it is committed to deliver on its P20 billion acquisition plan for 2022.
In a statement, the firm said it is already in discussion with Megaworld for the infusion of additional P15 billion worth of commercial assets.
This follows the announcement last month of MREIT’s injection of P5.3 billion worth of assets via a property for share swap with the sponsor.
“For our next infusion, we are already considering properties from townships in key growth areas outside of Metro Manila where MREIT does not have a presence yet,” said MREIT President Kevin Tan.
He noted that, “This will further diversify our portfolio and allow us to tap into other growth centers around the country.”
In his message at the company’s Annual Stockholders’ Meeting, Tan reiterated MREIT’s commitment to maximize shareholder value by increasing revenue generation from its existing portfolio, improving operational efficiency, and accelerating its acquisition plans.
“In line with our vision, we prepared a roadmap that calls for the expansion of MREIT’s property portfolio to one million square meters before the end of the decade,” said Tan.
He added that, “Given our access to Megaworld’s extensive office portfolio amounting to 1.4 million square meters, we believe that this is achievable. In 2022 alone, we are looking to acquire up to P20 billion worth of office properties from our sponsor.”
MREIT started its expansion drive shortly after it listed last October 2021, when the company acquired four properties before the year-end for a total consideration of P9.1 billion.
As a result of this acquisition, the company is now looking at declaring dividends equivalent to P1.00 per share in 2022, which is 6 percent higher than originally contemplated in the REIT plan.