CapitaLand Malaysia REIT Management Sdn Bhd intends to lessen its reliance on the retail segment by diversifying into industrial real estate, logistics, and data centres over the next year.

Chief executive officer Tan Choon Siang said these segments would be its primary focus because they could be potential new assets for the company.

According to him, a pre-check on these sectors showed that they are resilient, particularly during the peak of Covid-19.

“Retail accounted for nearly all of our revenue, so we hope to see more industrial assets in our portfolio and our preference is definitely to lower the percentage of our retail that’s something that we hope to see…,” he said during a virtual media briefing in conjunction with its fourth-quarter financial results for the financial year 2021.

Tan revealed that Capitaland would continue to focus on the Klang Valley to solidify its position before moving on to secondary cities such as Penang and Johor Bahru.

“Specifically we’re looking at the Klang Valley but we don’t rule out the possibility of locations like Penang and also Johor,” he said.

Meanwhile, CapitaLand Malaysia Trust’s net loss narrowed to RM30.93 million in the financial year ended December 31, 2021 from RM84.50 million a year ago.

Revenue fell 14.3 per cent to RM224.11 million from RM261.34 million previously, mainly due to lower gross rental income, lower car park income, lower recovery of utilities and lower marketing communications income.

Source: NewStraitsTimes,January 28, 2022