According to the old saying, it doesn't matter whether you win or lose - but how you play the game. That might be convincing if you are playing a friendly game of football, but most of us would take a different view when it comes to the investment game. If our own money is at stake, we would definitely prefer to win.

But how do you improve your chances of winning, especially in a relatively new and changing game like the REITs markets in Asia?

Real Estate Investment Trusts have only been established in Asia over the past six years. In some countries REITs got off to a bumpy start, and there have already been a few ups and downs.

Reuters' Asia property correspondent Dominic Whiting compares the REITs game to Monopoly, that long-running board game where players buy and develop properties.

But he doesn't go so far as to suggest that playing Monopoly could make you more successful at investing in REITs - or vice versa, for that matter. Instead, he simply points out that many of the goals and activities are similar in both games.

Playing the REITs Game gives a broad overview of how REITs markets have developed in Asia. For each country Whiting presents a brief history of REITs, explains how regulations and taxes are handled and points out specific issues of relevance to investors.

He also looks at likely changes to regulations in the future, and uses the experience of the longer-established REITs markets in the United States and Australia to predict what the future could be like in Asia.

Author: Dominic Whiting

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons (Asia) Pte Ltd

ISBN: 978-0-470-82204-3

Hard cover, 215 pages

(China Daily 07/06/2007 page15)