REITs

Since the advent of the REIT era in Japan in 2000, we have served as legal advisors to numerous investment corporations, asset management companies, sponsors, underwriting securities firms, and financing institutions on myriad REIT-related projects to date from a variety of perspectives. These include obtaining permits and approvals, IPOs, capital increases, property acquisitions, debt financing and M&A. We have also been actively engaged in highly novel projects, such as REITs investing in new asset classes, listed infrastructure funds, Singapore REITs and business trusts, establishing ourselves as a leading firm in Japan’s REIT sector.

REIT-related work incorporates an extremely broad scope of fields beyond financing, including the establishment of asset management companies and investment corporations, obtaining necessary licenses and approvals, IPOs, post-listing property acquisitions, global and other types of public offerings, debt financing and other fundraising, organizational management of board and unitholder meetings, statutory and timely disclosure, integrated resorts (IR), M&A, risk management, and business revitalization.

Lawyers at our firm boasting market-leading expertise across numerous disciplines, including capital markets, structured finance, banking, real estate transactions, infrastructure and energy, financial and real estate regulations, M&A, business restructuring and bankruptcy, crisis management, general corporate, litigation and dispute resolution, collaborate under the leadership of our REIT Practice Group partners. This framework ensures comprehensive advice on all legal issues related to REITs, harnessing the collective strength of our firm.
Additionally, we have a large team of paralegals specializing in REITs and listed infrastructure funds who have expert knowledge of real estate, infrastructure and energy, as well as disclosure specialists with extensive practical knowledge and experience, enabling us to provide detailed, high-quality due diligence and accurate disclosure support when clients acquire properties.

Our firm’s ongoing practice of secondments and information exchanges with relevant government agencies and securities companies in Japan, as well as participation in the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Study Group on the Listed Infrastructure Market, enhances our lawyers’ knowledge of up-to-the-minute regulatory trends and capital market practices, while also nurturing strong relationships with the key players involved in REITs and listed infrastructure funds, which enables us to provide support tailored to addressing practical business concerns. We have also built strong relationships with relevant government agencies, stock exchanges, academics and various experts in Japan, working with these parties to continuously create and accumulate cutting-edge knowledge and expertise.

We are highly regarded for our ability to offer high-quality, one-stop services that meet the needs of all parties involved in REITs, including investment corporations and asset management companies. We regularly receive inquiries and requests for second opinions from investment corporations and asset management companies that are not our regular clients, particularly where specialist knowledge is required in the areas of financial and real estate regulations.

Mori Hamada also engages in various activities to contribute to the sound development of the REIT and listed infrastructure fund industry as a whole. We have been involved in the legislative process for financial regulations, such as the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act and the Act on Investment Trusts and Investment Corporations, as well as the process for establishing exchange rules, and we have provided members for the Financial System Council during major revisions of the law, introducing insider trading regulations, rights offerings, regulations on conflict-of-interest transactions, and free capital reduction to REITs. We continue to offer our expertise as legal experts on new systems in Japan and overseas to industry groups and other parties to support the development of these systems.