CapitaLand Limited announced the establishment of its first discretionary real estate equity fund – CapitaLand Asia Partners I (CAP I) to invest in commercial real estate, value-add and transitional office buildings, in Asia’s key gateway cities, specifically Singapore, Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Osaka and Tokyo.

CapitaLand has raised US$391.3 million (approximately S$528.3 million) for CAP I’s first closing, just nine months after fundraising commenced in July 2018. Capital commitments were received from a diverse group of institutional investors including pension funds, insurance companies and financial institutions from Asia and Europe.

The establishment of CAP I comes on the heels of the first closing of CREDO I China, CapitaLand’s maiden discretionary real estate debt fund, in February 2019 as CapitaLand ramps up its discretionary real estate funds business.

Mr Lee Chee Koon, CapitaLand’s President & Group CEO, said: “CAP I is CapitaLand’s first discretionary private equity fund that allows us to make full investment and asset management decisions on behalf of our capital partners. The expansion from our traditional club funds to commingled fund provides CapitaLand with more diverse capital partners, and the speed of CAP I’s first closing demonstrates investors’ confidence in CapitaLand’s ability to deliver strong returns for their investments. Continual high demand for quality commercial properties in Asia’s key gateway cities, coupled with low supply, have made the renewal of ageing commercial assets a compelling investment strategy in these markets.”

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Mr Lee added: “Fund management is central to the active capital management strategy of CapitaLand1. With the addition of CAP I and following recent shareholders’ approval of CapitaLand’s acquisition of Ascendas-Singbridge2, CapitaLand is well poised to become one of the top 10 largest real estate investment managers globally3, with an enlarged fund management platform comprising 24 private funds and eight listed real estate investment trusts.”

Mr James Lim, CEO of CapitaLand Investment Management, said: “We are delighted with the successful first closing of CAP I and welcome several new investors to the CapitaLand’s fund management platform. CAP I has a ready pipeline of investment opportunities for capital deployment and we expect to deploy capital in the coming months. We look forward to creating value through sound asset management strategies and delivering robust and attractive risk-adjusted returns for our investors. We are now in advanced discussion with several groups and expect subsequent closings for the fund.”

Source:CapitaLand