Singapore Mapletree plans ¥80b Japan property fund

TOKYO: Mapletree Investments, a real estate firm wholly owned by Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings, said it plans to launch an around ¥80 billion (RM2.97 billion) Japan property fund this year in a bid to expand in the country's property sector ahead of its rivals.

The new fund, with a ¥30 billion equity portion, will invest in business-related properties such as data centres, research and development facilities and office buildings just outside central Tokyo and other big cities, Terence Heng, general manager of Mapletree Investments Japan told Reuters in an interview.

Mapletree, which opened its Japan office in 2007, has been ramping up its investment in Japanese logistics facilities mainly for its Mapletree Logistic Trust, which owns warehouses and other industrial properties across Asia.

In Japan, the Singaporean company manages 12 properties, mostly logistics assets, worth ¥60 billion. But it aims to more than triple this to ¥200 billion in the next two to three years before competition heats up in the market, Heng said.

Mapletree will soon ink three acquisition deals, worth about ¥13 billion, for its logistics trust, he continued. Another three or four transactions are also in the pipeline for the new fund, and there are also a few logistics facility development projects underway, he added. — Reuters