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Minister of State for Finance and Transport Lim Hwee Hwa, who delivered the keynote address at the congress yesterday, said valuers need to familiarise themselves with new models such as Reits. 'To tap into the fast-growing Reit market, valuers have to venture into the realm of finance, which will require a better understanding of the complex real estate transactions and the underlying business model of Reits in order to conduct valuations.' Asia's Reit market was capitalised at US$31 billion last December. Singapore, with 10 locally listed Reits, is the biggest market in Asia after Japan.

Hong Kong, Malaysia, Taiwan and Thailand are moving to attract players by launching their own Reits, which should increase the market for valuers. And to help capitalise on such opportunities, half a day has been set aside at this year's congress for training on general valuation and reits.

Ms Lim said valuers would also benefit. 'Together with the influx of foreign investment into the region, there has been an increase in cross-border investments in real estate,' she said.