Bilal Hussain Published May 2, 2024 Updated about 4 hours ago KARACHI: Ali Asgher, CEO of TPL REIT Management Company Limited (RMC) Ltd, expressed confidence that the Initial Public Offering (IPO) of Pakistan’s first Shariah-compliant hybrid REIT – TPL REIT Fund I, which is scheduled for public subscription on May 2-3, 2024 – will be oversubscribed. The IPO is expected to be one of the largest in recent years, and comes as a silver lining for the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) that has struggled to add companies to its mainboard in recent years. In an interview with BUSINESS RECORDER, Ali Asgher highlighted the potential of the real estate sector, pitching REITs as a reliable investment instrument. TPL REIT Fund-I public subscription opens today “Real estate is a lucrative sector with a promising outlook. REITs can help provide a structured and reliable investment instrument,” he said. Asgher noted that while the real estate sector has experienced a slowdown, particularly for open plots, TPL REIT focuses on the development side of real estate, where there is significant demand due to the country’s shortfall of millions of houses. He also emphasized that TPL REIT will prioritise sustainable development practices in its real estate projects. The IPO offer consists of a base offer of 22.94 million units, which is 1.25% of the total units of the REIT Scheme, having a face value of Rs10/unit, stated brokerage house Topline Securities in a report. This is also accompanied by a green shoe option of up to 22.39 million units representing a further 1.22% of the REIT Scheme. The offer is being made through the fixed price method at Rs 17.59 per unit which is equivalent to the NAV of the REIT. This will help offerers raise Rs 403-797 million depending upon the green shoe option utilisation. TPL RMC is a 100% owned subsidiary of TPL Properties Limited, and its REIT Fund I has currently invested in three projects, namely Mangrove, One Hoshang, and Technology Park.The initial REIT size is Rs18.35 billion, out of…