Pakistan’s First Successful Launch of a Real Estate Investment Trust

It was the start of November 2015. Muhammad Ejaz, the CEO of Arif Habib Dolmen REIT Management Limited (AHDRML), was preparing for a presentation to the Board of AHDRML for the following week. The presentation was to recount the story of Dolmen City REIT (DCR), launched a few months back in June 2015, highlighting the regulatory and legal challenges faced during the process and many lingering issues still confronting this nascent sector. Ejaz realized that the group, as a leading player in the sector, had a crucial role to play in lobbying for further changes in the regulation to pave the way for future launches. More importantly, Ejaz wanted a nod from the Board for launch of a different REIT structure in 2016 to capitalize on the immense opportunity in the real estate sector of Pakistan