In a move to industrialize Australia’s agricultural land in order to promote investment in farmland and agriculture, the global property index business IPD in partnership with Frank Delahunty will be launching a new index for Australia’s farmland within the next six months. Anthony De Francesco, managing director of IPD states that if Australia’s agricultural sector is going to grow it need consistent performance metrics provided to institutional investors. The index will likely mirror the Farmland and Timberland indices established under the U.S.’s National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries (NCREIF) and could include major investors in the ag sector such as Macquarie Group, TIAA-CREF Global Agriculture, and Hassad Australia. The parameters for the new index need to be at least $2 billion worth of farmland from a minimum of 15 different data contributors. Currently the fund has potential data contributors of 15 worth approximately $2.5 billion.
To receive relevant news stories with summaries provided by GAI Research & Insight, subscribe to Global AgDevelopments, our free bi-weekly enhanced eNews service