CapitaLand has registered as a private equity fund manager (PEFM) with the Asset Management Association of China (AMAC) to carry out RMB-denominated capital raising, as well as provide fund management services for prospective RMB funds in China.
CapitaLand says it is one of a select few wholly foreign-owned enterprises to have obtained the registered status as a PEFM in China.
“As China develops into one of the world’s largest asset management markets in the next few years, we see tremendous potential to tap the market liquidity for scaling our investment management platform. Our registration as a PEFM in China is thus a timely development that will also provide a boost to CapitaLand’s transition towards an asset-light and capital-efficient business model,” says Lee Chee Koon, group CEO of CapitaLand Group.
Puah Tze Shyang, CEO, investment and portfolio management, CapitaLand China, says the PEFM status will allow CapitaLand to offer fund management services to more investors through onshore fund-raising. “This will help to further diversify our domestic investor base in China and complement our existing offshore capital platforms such as CapitaLand China Trust and portfolio of private funds,” he adds.
CapitaLand targets to launch its first RMB-denominated fund product in 4Q2021. In line with China’s focus on new economy drivers under the country’s 14th Five-Year Plan, CapitaLand expects the upcoming fund to capture investment opportunities in new economy assets such as business parks, logistics and data centres, anchored by an optimal combination of value creation opportunities (opportunistic/value-added) and core-plus assets.
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Targeted institutional investor types will include domestic insurance companies, bank-backed investment platforms, non-bank financial institutions and government investment vehicles.
CapitaLand plans to grow its exposure to new economy assets in China to $5 billion over the next few years, from the $1.5 billion as at end 2020.
In April, CapitaLand had announced the acquisition of its first hyperscale data centre campus in Shanghai, China for RMB3.66 billion ($759.9 million).
Shares in CapitaLand closed 5 cents or 1.36% higher at $3.74 on June 23.
Photo: CapitaLand
