29.1.2007

At This Stage They Will Not Be Able To Participate In Major Projects

                                                                                                                                        Veselin Genchev,
                                                                                                                                        Benchmark Group,
                                                                                                                                        Benchmark Fund Estates REIT

Too many or too few
They are a lot as number but two thirds of them have been established for tax purposes only, something, which does not make much sense after the corporate tax reduction. If yet a company is to go through the whole procedure of licensing and registering, it is not worth doing it for that reason only.
The investors
Bulgarian REITs will be able to raise their money volume mainly from foreign sources. But the big banks would not invest. The foreign investors would be private persons of good investment culture or some minor funds. In Bulgaria serious resources just cannot be found unless collective investment schemes get popular and become a serious source of institutional capital for them. That is why it is very important how the markets of the mutual funds and the investment companies will develop.
The projects
At this stage they will not be able to participate in major projects over EUR 25 m. The real big projects – over EUR 25 m, will be beyond their potential, even projects of less than EUR 25 m, will be beyond their potential, even projects of less than EUR 25 m will be rare. Major projects are not in REIT portfolios. They go to other funds that have raised significantly larger capital abroad.


                                                                                                      THE BULGARIAN PROPERTY INDEX MAGAZINE