KUALA LUMPUR (June 10): The Malaysian REIT Managers Association (MRMA) has appointed Leong Kit May, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Axis REIT Managers Bhd, as its new chairman.

Leong succeeds Datuk Philip Ho — the CEO of Pavilion REIT Management Sdn Bhd — who served as the association’s chairman from June 16, 2022 to June 5, 2024. The appointment was made following the MRMA’s annual general meeting (AGM) last Thursday (June 6).

“As the collective voice of the association, we will continue to leverage MRMA’s platform to proactively engage with various government ministries and agencies, such as Bursa Malaysia and the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC), to enhance the competitiveness of Malaysian Real Estate Investment Trusts (M-REITs) in the region,” said Leong in a statement on Monday.

At the end of March, there were 19 M-REITs listed under the SC’s guidelines on listed REITs, with a total market capitalisation of RM43.2 billion, including AME REIT, Sunway REIT and KLCC Stapled Group.

Leong Kit May (Photo credit: MRMA)

MRMA’s AGM also saw the re-election of Tan Choon Siang from CapitaLand Malaysia REIT Management Sdn Bhd as vice chairman, alongside the newly-elected vice chairman Zuhairy Md Isa from AmREIT Managers Sdn Bhd.

Meanwhile, Datuk Stewart Labrooy of Alpha REIT Managers Sdn Bhd and Derek Teh of Sentral REIT Management Sdn Bhd were re-elected as honorary secretary and committee member, respectively, MRMA added.

MRMA was established in May 2010, as a collective representation of the Malaysian real estate investment sector and to establish an environment for more investments into high quality real estate in Malaysia.

Currently, the association represents 25 listed and unlisted M-REITs, as well as non-REIT associate members, according to MRMA’s website.