REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT DECISION-MAKING CHALLENGES AMONG GOVERNMENT-LINKED INVESTMENT COMPANIES IN MALAYSIA
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21837/pm.v24i44.2308Keywords:
Real Estate Investment, Government-Linked Investment Companies, Investment Decision-Making Challenges, MalaysiaAbstract
Institutional real estate investment decisions in emerging economies remain underexplored, particularly among government-linked entities that must balance commercial returns with broader national development mandates. Although Malaysia government-linked investment companies (GLICs) are among the country’s dominant institutional investors in the commercial real estate market, the challenges influencing their real estate investment decisions remain insufficiently understood. This study examines the challenges that influence real estate investment decisions among Malaysian GLICs. A qualitative study design was adopted, drawing on semi-structured interviews with 15 key informants directly involved in real estate investment decision-making. Thematic analysis identified challenges across two broad dimensions, namely internal and external. Internal challenges include organisational and structural constraints, behavioural biases such as herding and home bias, and social and sustainable challenges, including environmental, social, and governance (ESG) pressure and ambitious development. External challenges comprise political and geopolitical risk, macroeconomic challenges, real estate market constraints, and regulatory and legal requirements. These findings reveal a dual mandate tension between achieving risk-adjusted returns and fulfilling socio-political obligations. This study contributes to the limited literature on institutional real estate investment challenges in emerging economies and offers practical implications for fund managers, policymakers, and regulators seeking to enhance institutional real estate investment practices in Malaysia.
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