REITs could unlock diaspora, pension fund capital – SEC

…open up domestic properties, stock market

By Ebenezer Chike Adjei NJOKU

A new generation of real estate investment trusts could open the domestic commercial property market to pension funds and members of the diaspora, as regulators and developers seek to deepen the country’s capital markets and broaden access to long-term investment assets, a Deputy Director General Finance at the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) Mensah Thompson, has said.

Speaking at the launch of Rangoon Real Estate Investment Trust PLC – a vehicle that manages two assets in Cantonment City, a development owned by Goldkey Properties – Mr. Thompson said structured property vehicles could help mobilise pools of capital that have historically struggled to access large-scale real estate projects.

“A REIT enables long-term savings to be channeled into productive assets such as commercial property, housing and urban infrastructure,” he said, adding that the structure offers investors a more accessible route into property ownership.

A REIT is a company that owns, operates or finances income-producing property. Similar in structure to a mutual fund, REITs pool capital from multiple investors and distribute income generated from rents and property assets as dividends. For many investors, particularly those offshore,  property remains one of the most familiar and trusted investment classes. Yet direct ownership often requires substantial capital commitments and ongoing management responsibilities, limiting participation to a relatively small pool of investors.

REITs offer an alternative. By allowing investors to purchase shares in professionally managed portfolios of income-generating buildings, the vehicles provide exposure to property markets without the operational complexities of direct ownership.

Regulators believe the model could prove particularly attractive to Ghana’s diaspora. Annual remittances to the country reached approximately US$7.8 billion in 2025, equivalent to roughly 6 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the period. Much of this capital has historically been directed toward individual residential construction projects, often outside formal investment structures.

Mr. Thompson said REITs could channel a portion of those flows into institutional-grade commercial property assets. “In many markets around the world, REITs have played an important role in linking capital markets with real estate development,” he said.

Globally, REITs represent a mature asset class valued at about US$4.6 trillion. In developed markets they have become a central mechanism for institutional investment in property, covering sectors ranging from office buildings and shopping centres to logistics hubs, data centres and healthcare facilities. The Rangoon vehicle represents one of the most visible moves in recent years to establish such structures in Ghana. Both properties are leased to multinational tenants under long-term agreements.

Prime commercial property in Accra currently offers rental yields estimated between 8 percent and 11 percent, significantly higher than the 4 percent to 5.5 percent typically observed in mature global property markets.

Cynthia Darko Acquaye, Executive Director of Goldkey Properties and Group Chief Operating Officer of CH Group, said the REIT structure was designed to broaden participation in high-quality commercial real estate. “The Huawei Building and the PwC Tower were conceived to meet the requirements of world-class multinational tenants,” she said, adding that the trust provides investors with an opportunity to participate in the ownership of these assets.

Goldkey Properties will retain a majority stake in the properties, while outside investors participate through shares in the trust.

According to Kwaku Bediako, Founder of Goldkey Properties and Executive Chairman of CH Group, the initiative reflects a broader ambition to demonstrate that locally developed property assets can be integrated into institutional investment structures. “REITs are not simply investment products. They are economic infrastructure and we are confident in what the Rangoon REIT is going to do,” he noted.

Industry participants say the development could be particularly significant for Ghana’s pension sector, which manages growing pools of long-term savings. Total pension assets under management reached about GH¢100 billion in early 2026.

Guidelines issued by the National Pensions Regulatory Authority require pension schemes to allocate at least 5 percent of their portfolios to alternative assets, potentially creating a domestic capital pool of roughly GH¢5billion for investments such as structured property vehicles. REITs allow pension funds to allocate capital to property without assuming the operational risks associated with direct development or asset management. For developers, they provide an additional financing channel beyond traditional bank lending.

The structure could also help address broader real estate investment needs. Ghana’s housing deficit is estimated at about 1.8 million units, while urbanisation continues to accelerate, with more than half the population now living in cities.

The capital market regulator insisted that investor protection will be central to the sector’s development. Mr. Thompson said REITs operate under a regulatory framework requiring regular disclosures, independent audits and ongoing oversight. “These safeguards promote accountability and strengthen confidence in the market,” he said.

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