JLL’s ninth Global Real Estate Transparency Index reveals which countries provide the most favourable operating environments for investors : Australia and New Zealand top the list in the AP region, followed by Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan.

Thailand ranks 38th in the semi-transparent tier, far behind Malaysia (28) and event India Tier 1 (36).

Covering 109 markets worldwide, JLL’s Global Real Estate Transparency Index quantifies transparency based on 139 variables relating to transaction processes, regulatory & legal frameworks, corporate governance, performance measurement and data availability.

The most improved region

The Asia Pacific region continues to make strides in transparency, but advances are not uniform across the region with a wide disparity still persisting between markets. Australia and New Zealand have maintained their positions atop the regional ranking and in the global ‘Highly Transparent’ category.

At the other end of the spectrum, Myanmar has held onto the title as the least transparent market in Asia Pacific, but moderate progress has been made following significant economic and political reforms.

Singapore and Hong Kong compete for top spot in Asia

Singapore and Hong Kong remain neck and neck for top spot in Asia; however, both markets have seen little change in overall transparency and continue to be on the border of the ‘Highly Transparent’ category.

Alignment of shareholders’ interests of listed vehicles in Hong Kong still requires improvement, while the depth of real estate data in disaggregated databases in Singapore trails many major global markets. In addition, reconciliation of service charges for facilities management remains an area that both markets lag relative to their market maturity.

Taiwan is region’s biggest improver

The region’s biggest improver, Taiwan, has seen marked progress on the back of gains in ‘Market Fundamentals’ and ‘Transaction Process’. A more competitive landscape has elevated occupier service offerings, while policy changes, both new and old, are flowing through to gains in information availability and accuracy. In 2016, a consolidated housing and land tax was introduced which brought the country in line with international standards and helped correct a flaw in the taxation system which saw declared land values often undervalued.