This year, market analysts have acquired new data on international timberland ownership and investment activity while the industry shifts to be more global
Historically, timberland investment has been highly concentrated in North America, but global operations have increased in recent years. 42% of the top 30 Timber Investment Management Organizations (TIMOs) are now based outside of the United States. Similarly, each of the 10 largest TIMOs manage forest outside of North America. These and other findings were released in the new edition of the International Timberland Ownership and Investment Database – published by RISI, leading information provider for the global forest products industry.
"In the last year, while North America's share of institutional timberland investment has continued to be quite high, its share has slightly declined – while Latin America has had the highest increase in share when compared to other regions," states Robert Flynn, lead-author and Director of International Timber at RISI.
"For the new edition of the database, we identified 17% more transactions taking place internationally. Our database has expanded by over 300 companies, and ownership has been identified in an additional eight countries. For those involved in or looking to invest in this industry, the database is truly the only tool available for understanding both the current state and future trends in global timberland investments," continued Flynn.
The database identifies forest ownership by 1,075 companies in 82 countries. In total, it includes timberland ownership by company for 305 million acres covering an estimated $458 billion in timberland assets. The Global Forest Ownership Review, included in the database, provides brief profiles of more than 430 timberland owners and contains data for 200 transactions occurring outside North America.
www.risi.com
