NH Prime REITs, 'Mirae Asset Gaemideul' Become Largest Shareholders

As interest rates rise, popularity in REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts) has increased, leading to an unusual situation where individual investors have become the largest shareholders of REITs. A securities firm, which unexpectedly became the largest shareholder due to individual purchase accounts, spent three months without disclosing its 5% stake before belatedly making a disclosure.

According to the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system on the 21st, NH Prime REIT announced on the 12th that its largest shareholder had changed to Mirae Asset Securities (Trust). Holding a total stake of 5.46% (1,018,639 shares), it surpassed NH Nonghyup REIT Management (4.82%, 900,000 shares) to become the top shareholder.

NH Nonghyup REIT Management, which manages this product, explained, "Ahead of the regular shareholders' meeting, we recently checked the shareholder registry and confirmed that Mirae Asset Securities' trust accounts held more than 5% of the shares, making it the largest shareholder. It appears that shares from another institution were transferred to Mirae Asset Securities in April." According to the large shareholder report, Mirae Asset Securities secured more than 940,000 shares in April and purchased an additional 70,000 shares this month.

Mirae Asset, suddenly taking on the role of the largest shareholder in another company's REIT, responded, "We confirmed that a stake exceeding 5% was acquired through individual accounts, and the delay in disclosure was due to the process of verifying who was responsible for the disclosure." Mirae Asset disclosed that the cumulative acquisition quantity in investors' retirement pension and Individual Savings Account (ISA) accounts exceeded 5%, stating that the investment was for simple investment purposes.

Both companies stated that their involvement was not for the purpose of transferring or managing the REIT. They explained that the unusual change in the largest shareholder occurred simply due to increased interest from individual investors.

With individual shareholders becoming the largest shareholders, their influence is expected to strengthen. An industry insider said, "REIT shareholders can exercise voting rights just like other listed companies. Holding more than 5% of shares allows convening a shareholders' meeting, and at the meeting, proposals to change the management company can be made."

NH Prime REIT is a product that invests in a professional private real estate investment trust investing in Seoul Square, Gangnam N Tower, Samsung C&T Seocho Building, Samsung SDS Tower, and others. Its net income for this year is about 2.4 billion KRW, down 36.89% compared to the previous year.