Section XXII-2

Section XXII-2: Corporations - Buying, acquiring or dealing in real estate.

  No corporation shall be created or licensed in this State for
the purpose of buying, acquiring, trading, or dealing in real
estate other than real estate located in incorporated cities and
towns and as additions thereto; nor shall any corporation doing
business in this State buy, acquire, trade, or deal in real
estate for any purpose except such as may be located in such
towns and cities and as additions to such towns and cities, and
further except such as shall be necessary and proper for carrying
on the business for which it was chartered or licensed; and
provided further that under limitations prescribed by the
legislature, any corporation may acquire real estate for lease or
sale to any other corporation, if such latter corporation could
have legally acquired the same in the first instance; nor shall
any corporation be created or licensed to do business in this
State for the purpose of acting as agent in buying and selling or
leasing land for agricultural purposes; provided, however, that
corporations shall not be precluded from taking mortgages on real
estate to secure loans or debts, or from acquiring title thereto
upon foreclosure of such mortgages or in the collection of debts,
conditioned that such corporation or corporations shall not hold
such real estate for a longer period than seven (7) years after
acquiring such title; and provided, further, that this Section
shall not apply to trust companies taking only the naked title to
real estate in this State as a trustee, to be held solely as
security for indebtedness pursuant to such trust; and provided,
further, that no public service corporation shall hold any land,
or the title thereof, in any way whatever in this State, except
as the same shall be necessary for the transaction and operation
of its business as such public service corporation.