An employee is pictured behind the logo of the Mexican stock exchange at the stock exchange in  Investors optimistic about a potential Mexican nearshoring boom have been scooping up stocks in local real estate, transport companies and banks, analysts say, in a bid to cash in on the wave of U.S businesses setting up shop over the border.

The trend has seen increasing numbers of companies move production closer to North American buyers – specifically to Mexico – and away from Asia, following supply chain snarls during the pandemic

Among the biggest winners on the Mexican exchange are real estate companies like Vesta (VESTA.MX), which soared 22% in the first quarter, alongside Fibra Prologis (FIBRAPL14.MX) – up 17% – and Fibra Terrafina (TERRA13.MX) – up 19%; outpacing the country’s main stock index (.MXX) 11% hike.

This pool of real estate REITs – or real estate investment trusts – own a high number of industrial parks and factories in the north which are reaching capacity thanks to an influx of manufacturing clients.

REITS are the natural beneficiary from nearshoring,” Carlos Alberto Gonzalez Taberes, an analyst at Monex, says, as high demand for industrial parks in Mexico’s north push rents – and revenues – higher.

Fibra UNO (FUNO11.MX), for instance, boasted 98% occupancy across its industrial property portfolio in the fourth quarter.

“I am very happy to say, and I would not like to sound to brag about (it), but we are in the best shape to receive whatever nearshoring throws at us,” Fibra UNO’s CEO Andre El-Mann Arazi said in its Q4 earnings call.

Carlos Peyrelongue, a Mexico equity analyst at Bank of America, says the REITs’ stock rally “is definitely from the nearshoring push”, given their exposure to the export industry

SOURCE:REUTERS