AME REIT buys three Johor industrial plots for RM50.2m to tap JS-SEZ demand
AME Real Estate Investment Trust (KL: AMEREIT) will pay RM50.2 million for three vacant freehold industrial plots in i-Park @ Senai Airport City, Johor, marking its first third-party acquisition since listing.
Source: Ame Real Estate Investment Trust · July 30, 2026 at 11:06 PM · AI-assisted report
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JOHOR, 31 JULY 2026 —
AME Real Estate Investment Trust (KL: AMEREIT) will pay RM50.2 million for three vacant freehold industrial plots in i-Park @ Senai Airport City, Johor, marking its first third-party acquisition since listing.
Market Impact
The 8.87-acre purchase, executed by RHB Trustees Bhd, is the trust’s first arm’s-length deal outside its sponsor AME Elite Consortium Bhd. Since its September 2022 IPO, AME REIT has spent RM289.5 million on sponsor-linked assets.
The freehold location in the Iskandar Malaysia corridor places AME REIT to benefit from rising demand for prime industrial space driven by the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ). The trust already has 48.6% of its portfolio by value in i-Park @ Senai Airport City, which crossed the RM1 billion asset mark earlier this year.
Chan Wai Leo, chief executive officer and executive director of I REIT Managers Sdn Bhd, said the acquisition aligns with the trust’s new build-to-lease strategy. “This lets us create the industrial assets the market now wants rather than chasing completed buildings where yields are under pressure,” he said in a statement.
The three detached facilities will be customisable for tenant fit-outs, while existing infrastructure cuts time for new occupants to start operations. A vendor rebate, still subject to paperwork and regulatory approvals, will lower the effective cost by 5.2% below an independent valuation, Chan noted.
AME REIT will fund the purchase with a mix of Islamic financing and internal cash. Completion is targeted for the fourth quarter of 2026.
The trust’s 41-strong portfolio is entirely industrial and industrial-related assets in Iskandar Malaysia.
Chan said the JS-SEZ momentum is lifting occupier demand. “Tenants are prioritising locations within the economic zone for faster customs clearance and lower logistics costs,” he said.
The deal also diversifies AME REIT’s acquisition base, he added, after years focused on sponsor-led transactions.
Industry analysts said the purchase reflects a broader shift among Malaysian REITs to forward-fund development to lock in longer leases and stabilise income. “Forward development allows REITs to shape the product to tenant needs and avoid compressed yields,” said a Kuala Lumpur-based analyst who tracks the sector.
The trust’s gearing remains below its internal threshold, according to the filing, providing headroom for further acquisitions once the Johor facilities are operational.
AME REIT’s dividend yield is currently above the Bursa Malaysia REIT index average, supported by contracted rental escalations across its portfolio.
The new facilities will be marketed to logistics, high-tech manufacturing and food-processing tenants, Chan said, sectors showing the strongest growth in the southern corridor. Existing tenants in i-Park @ Senai Airport City can also expand into the additional space.
The acquisition price implies a land cost of about RM5.66 million per acre, below recent transactions in the Senai cluster, according to the independent appraisal cited in the filing.
Once developed, the three buildings will add roughly 150,000 sq ft of gross leasable area to AME REIT’s portfolio, expanding its industrial footprint by about 6%. The trust’s occupancy rate was 96.2% at end-March 2026.
Analysts will watch for the trust’s next acquisition pipeline and the timing of the JS-SEZ-related incentives that could accelerate tenant take-up.
Related: AME REIT · i-Park @ Senai Airport City · Chan Wai Leo · Johor