BUSINESS space solutions provider Ascendas Pte Ltd announced yesterday in Shanghai that it has set up two China real estate funds with a combined fund size of S$1.4 billion (US$924 million).
The funds will invest in industrial and business parks as well as commercial assets on the Chinese mainland.
The two funds, Ascendas China Industrial & Business Parks Fund and Ascendas China Commercial Fund, will each have a size of S$600 million and S$800 million, the Singapore-based company said.
"We see an important role for Ascendas to share our strong regional expertise in real estate funds management, which is a budding growth area in China's financial sector," said Chong Siak Ching, president and chief executive officer of Ascendas. "The launch of these two funds opens up future opportunities and further shows our commitment to China for the long term."
Initial portfolios of the two funds consist of cash-flow generating assets from different real estate segments.
Seed assets for ACIBPF include Ascendas' flagship project in China - the Xinsu assets, comprising 54 buildings and five hectares of land in the Suzhou Industrial Park. The funds aims to invest in light industrial and logistics, including warehouses and distribution centers, software and IT related facilities, suburban office buildings and business parks all across the country.
Very likely, the company's assets in Wujiang, Nanjing, Dalian and Xi'an will be injected into the funds, according to company officials.
Meanwhile, ACCF, which now has Ascendas Ocean Towers, a 25-story Grade-A commercial office building in the city's downtown Huangpu District, will soon add Ascendas Plaza, a commercial office building in Xujiahui area.
The fund will look for acquisitions of Grade-A commercial office buildings in the country's first-tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.
"The country's real estate industry just needs more real estate funds as well as qualified developers with strong expertise to help the industry grow faster and healthier," commented Tang Hao, professor and vice president of Shanghai University.
Entering the Chinese market in 1994, Ascendas is now operating in 10 cities.