The Philippine Government is readying to pass legislation enabling a domestic listed property trust (LPT) market after more than two years of advice from external professionals including Melbourne based property consultant Ken Atchison.

Atchison, who heads specialist property consultancy Atchison Consultants, has advised the Filipino House of Representatives and the country’s stock exchange to introduce conservative LPTs that focus on the basics of property – rental income and capital growth – rather than financial engineering.

The Philippines Government aims to ratify the legislation in December before concentrating on the 2010 national election. Atchison views the Philippine property sector as part of the Asian growth story and believes that a domestic LPT sector would benefit local investors. “The Philippines looks attractive. It has very positive demographics – a young population, a sound legal system. But there is some political unrest. It’s small relative to China and India but in our view it will be one of the jewels in the crown in the next decade. “