Kenedix to set up US$110 mln Japan property fund

TOKYO: Japanese real estate asset manager Kenedix Inc said on Tuesday May 25 that it plans to launch a 10 billion yen (US$110.8 million) private fund to invest in Japanese office and commercial buildings, in the latest sign that the country's property market is picking up.

Kenedix said the new fund, with a five-year management period, would use capital acquired from Korean pension funds seeking stable long-term returns.

The Japanese property sector was it by a price slump in the wake of the global financial crisis, but some market participants say that it has bottomed out and is gradually starting to improve.

Prior to the announcement, Kenedix's shares dropped 2.4 percent to a 12-month closing low of 20,000 yen. - Reuters