No description available.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / Poverty reduction, employment creation and economic growth are priorities in the development of Namibia. Although Namibia has a relatively high domestic savings rate in the form of long-term insurance, unit trust and pension contributions, these savings do not translate into economic growth and job creation. Under Regulation 28 of the Pension Funds Act, Namibian pension funds are required to invest a minimum of 35% of pension fund assets in the domestic economy, with a minimum of 5% of assets to be invested in unlisted entities. Both measures are aimed at using domestic savings to stimulate economic growth. Regulation 28 also requires pension funds to diversify the investments of assets across different asset classes, both domestically and internationally, in order to reduce exposure to the risk posed by a specific asset class. Taking cognisance of the additional risks involved in investment in unlisted entities, Namibian legislators drafted Regulation 29 through which these pension fund investments in unlisted entities are to be made once Regulation 29 is promulgated. Such investments will take the form of private equity investments, although provision is made for debt financing of unlisted entities. This research paper investigates the potential risks and benefits associated with the requirement to invest in unlisted entities, and whether draft Regulation 29 will provide sufficient safeguards to mitigate the risks to pension funds of investing in this asset class. Regulation 29 has been drafted taking into consideration lessons learned from the experience of the Government Institutions Pension Fund in investing in unlisted entities. In order to invest in unlisted entities, draft Regulation 29 requires pension funds to invest in a special purpose vehicle through which investments are made in portfolio companies that have been identified by unlisted investment managers. Pension funds will not be allowed to make direct investments in unlisted entities. The draft regulation details the contractual relationship between the pension fund and the various parties to the unlisted investment. It imposes strict reporting requirements on the pension fund, the special purpose vehicle and the unlisted investment manager, and creates a heavy regulatory burden for the Namibian Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority as the regulator. In addition to access to sufficient funds for private equity investments, adequate investment opportunities, appropriate experience and skills of managers in the industry, and a supportive regulatory environment, private equity investors require ways to exit their investments, either through listing on a stock exchange or disposing of investments on a secondary market.

by Tam Chi Cheung. / Bibliography: leaves 92-96 / Thesis (M.Ph.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1986

by Cheng Ngai Fai, Tong Wai Kin, Kenneth. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 50). / Chapter 1. --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Chapter 2. --- OBJECTIVES --- p.4 / Chapter 3. --- LITERATURE REVIEW --- p.6 / Overview of REITs --- p.6 / The Current Market of REIT --- p.8 / Regulations Imposed on REITs --- p.10 / Performance of the REITs --- p.12 / Key Success Factors and Marketability of REITs --- p.14 / Avoid Double Taxation --- p.14 / Current Income --- p.15 / High Liquidity --- p.15 / Professional Management --- p.16 / Portfolio Diversification --- p.16 / Performance Monitoring --- p.17 / Inflationary Hedge --- p.18 / Attraction of REITs to Pension Investors --- p.19 / REIT Dependence on Capital Markets --- p.20 / Who Will Supply the Capital --- p.21 / Four Basic Investment Methods --- p.23 / Real Estate Analysis --- p.24 / Chapter 4. --- HONG KONG ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL ENVIRONMENT --- p.25 / General Economy --- p.25 / Hong Kong Stock Market --- p.28 / Hong Kong Debt Market --- p.30 / Hong Kong Property Market --- p.32 / Chapter 5. --- ANALYSIS --- p.35 / Hong Kong Stock Market --- p.35 / Simulation of REIT in Hong Kong --- p.39 / Chapter 6. --- DISCUSSION --- p.43 / Internal Rate of Returns --- p.43 / Risks and Returns --- p.44 / Limitations on Our Studies --- p.45 / Conclusions --- p.45 / APPENDIX --- p.47 / BIBLIOGRAPHY --- p.52

published_or_final_version / Real Estate and Construction / Master / Master of Science in Real Estate and Construction

It is inevitable that works on waqf written in English will employ terms from Anglo-American law to describe that institution. This study will endeavour to provide a proper understanding of these terms in order to clear up longstanding misconceptions of the nature of waqf. Through a detailed history of the Anglo-American law of endowments and its terminology, this study will create a framework through which it may be possible to obtain a clearer understanding of waqf. The study will also address two historical events in which the Islamic and Anglo-American legal conceptions of endowments have been at odds, as well as address the objections that have been raised to the continued existence of waqf , both from within Muslim society and from without. It is hoped that through this study a better appreciation of the utility of waqf for Muslim society will be achieved.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Wollongong, 2007. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references: leaf 303-338.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Sophia University, Japan, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 265-270).

Pension fund investments have been under the spotlight lately, particularly on the back of the recent global financial and economic crisis that resulted in a significant reduction in pension fund assets across economies. Increased poverty levels and high financial indebtedness abound, as workers grapple with retrenchments, reduction in retirement benefits and reduced wages. This is causing a re-assessment of investment strategies of pension funds across the globe, and increasing support for the argument that, the traditional equity/government bond asset allocation is out - fashioned in a world of lower returns and wider choices. Pension funds by virtue of their size, can impact the society directly and/or indirectly through investments in companies that incorporate environmental, social and governance issues in their corporate behaviours, or in dedicated socially responsible investment funds or other forms of alternative investments. This study sought to provide a link between the investment patterns of pension funds and national economic development. An in-depth literature review was undertaken, and investments impacts were assessed by looking at published reports of select funds and corporations. Pension funds are an integral part of a nation‟s economy. This research work established the various dimensions in which pension fund investments can impact the socio economic development of a country, especially in developing countries, where there exists a huge infrastructural and economic gap among different sectors of the economy. Pension funds are workers capital, and therefore should be invested in a manner that will benefit workers, and these benefits cannot be restricted to mere financial benefits, it should be able to generate social, financial and environmental benefits, and in a sustainable way.

Real Estate Investment Trusts (REIT’s) provide certain benefits for investors as opposed to them directly investing in property. Many countries worldwide have already established tax systems for REIT’s which give natural persons and companies the benefit of not outlaying substantial capital, and provide certain tax dispensations to them. The concept of a REIT is new to South Africa. The vehicles that have been used by investors in the past to invest indirectly in property have been Property Unit Trusts (PUTs) and Property Loan Stock Companies (PLS). These different types of entities have had different taxation rules applied to them, as they differed in legal entity, i.e. a trust versus a company. The different types of entity were historically a deterrent to foreign investors who preferred to invest in countries that had the REIT structure and certain tax dispensations. The National Treasury and the South African Revenue Service (SARS) decided to collaborate in this matter so as to encourage foreign property investment, and launched with effect from 1 April 2013, a new REIT tax dispensation for investors in property portfolios. The REIT created a unified regime in South Africa. All portfolios wanting to call themselves REITs had to qualify under certain requirements, and then they would be eligible for the new section 25BB tax dispensation. The South African REIT market is relatively new when compared to the Australian REIT market, which is the second largest in the world. The Australian REIT market has been around for approximately forty three years more than the South African REIT market. The Australian REIT regime is analysed in terms of how REITs are taxed in that country. The final chapter provides a comparison between the South African and Australian REIT regimes. The major differences are identified as to how each country taxes the REITs and the respective shareholders, and from these a few proposals are made which could improve the South African REIT regime in order for it to stand up to worldwide scrutiny.