KUALA LUMPUR: Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (KWAP), also known as Retirement Fund Inc, has made its first property investment in Australia with the purchase of a freehold building in Melbourne's central business district.

In a statement on Thursday, Apr 21, KWAP said it had in December last year completed the acquisition of the building for a consideration of A$113 million (RM365.13 million) from the property's developer, the Equiset Grollo Group.

The Grade A property, known as 737 Bourke Street, has an area of 204,331 sq feet and an occupancy rate of 98.5%.

According to KWAP, the building's major tenant is the National Food Services Pte Ltd which occupies approximately 70% of the building's space.

"The estimated net initial return on the investment to KWAP, post-tax, is at 5.9%," said the retirement fund for civil servants.  

KWAP said it had appointed CB Richard Ellis to undertake the property management of the asset.

From last year, KWAP via its joint venture with the Employees Provident Fund had acquired three buildings in London, UK at a total acquisition cost of £500 million (RM2.49 billion).

The three properties are 1 Sheldon Square in Paddington, 40 Portman Square in the London West End and Whitefriars Building in the London City area.

These investments form part of the funds' strategy to diversify its investment instruments and income stream from its mainstay of equities.

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