At least 4 infrastructure firms being wooed to list REITs

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January 19, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — At least four infrastructure companies could be gearing up for their real estate investment trusts (REITs) listings this year following key amendments to the REIT framework by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

“We’re talking to infrastructure companies that could be possible for the infra theme of the SEC for the new REIT rules. We’re trying to convince them to go the REIT way,” Investment & Capital Corp. of the Philippines (ICCP) president Manny Ocampo said.

“The new REIT rules, they are more geared toward tollways, fiber optic networks, data centers and telco towers. So those are the ones we’re looking at for possible companies,” he said.

The SEC has amended earlier this month the rules governing REITs, providing both issuers and investors with more opportunities to participate in the capital market through investments in real properties.

The revised rules clarified that income-generating real estate include real properties with a regular stream of income, or those with recurring and predictable cash inflows, thereby encompassing not just income derived from the lease of the property, or other similar arrangements, but also other passive income such as rentals, toll, user fees, ticket sales, parking fees and storage fees.

This will cover toll roads, railways, airports and air navigation facilities, ports, information and communications technology infrastructure, energy infrastructure assets, data centers, parking lots, buildings, malls, warehouses or storage facilities, immovable fixtures, machinery, facilities and structures, as well as real rights over properties including but not limited to usufruct, easements and registered leases.

ICCP said the amendments, which now allows infrastructure assets into the REIT framework, alongside an easing interest-rate environment, could prompt a fresh wave of REIT listings.

“For REITs, I think a lot of people will get ready. Once you start seeing people forming special purpose vehicles and transferring assets into that, that’s a hint already,” Ocampo said.

Ocampo said it will be easier to convince companies to take the REIT route compared to a regular initial public offering (IPO).

“Because if REIT, what you’re talking about is dividend yield for pricing. If it will be regular IPO, then price earnings, market conditions, it will be all that. It’s more conducive for new REIT issuances,” he said.

Nonetheless, Ocampo said ICCP is also talking to two other companies for potential regular IPOs.

“They are infra-related companies as well. One is maybe big, the other one is for a mid-cap company,” he said.

Ocampo sees these potential IPOs and REIT listings happening in the second half of the year.