THE Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) will be consulting real estate investment trust (Reits) managers on the need to hold Annual General Meetings, said Senior Minister of State for Finance and Transport, Mrs Lim Hwee Hua on Friday.

The requirement, if implemented, would be in line with the practices for other listed vehicles and would ensure better corporate governance for Reits, she said.

'Even as we fine-tune our rules to facilitate recapitalisation and financing, it is important that we do not lose sight of the need to uphold corporate governance and shareholders' rights which are the foundation for a vibrant and trusted reit market,' said Mrs Lim.

She was speaking at the Singapore reit summit organised by the Asian Public Real Estate Association.

She acknowledged the concerns faced by the reit sector and said that measures have been introduced to help it cope with the credit crunch.

Reits face refinancing difficulties because of the tight credit market. Some of them have recently asked the Government to lower the 90 per cent minimum payout ratio to reit unit holders in order to help the reits conserve cash.

Mrs Lim clarified the Government's position on this, saying the Ministry of Finance and MAS have 'deliberated this issue' and have decided that the minimum payout ratio would not change.

'The key characteristics of Reits as a stable, high-payout, pass-through vehicle are important considerations for investors, and hence, must be preserved,' she said.

She added that there are now no strong grounds to justify a special tax treatment for Reits that is not made available to other entities.

'It is unrealistic for S-reits to expect to have continued access to cheap and easy credit during this recession,' said the minister.