Mapletree Investments, a wholly-owned property firm of Temasek Holdings, plans to launch an around 80 billion yen ($928 million) property fund in Japan this year in a bid to expand its presence in the country’s property market.
With an equity portion of around 30 billion yen, the new fund will be invested in business-related properties like data centres, development and research facilities, as well as office buildings in Tokyo and other major cities, said Terence Heng, general manager of Mapletree Investments Japan.
Mapletree opened its Japan office in 2007 and has been continuously working on its investments for Mapletree Logistic Trust, which owns industrial properties and warehouses across Asia.
The Singaporean firm manages 12 properties in Japan, mostly logistics assets worth 60 billion yen. However, Mr. Heng said that the company aims to more than triple its assets to 200 billion yen in the next two to three years before the market competition heats up.
He added that the company will soon sign three acquisition deals worth 13 billion yen for its logistics trust, and another three to four transactions are in line for the new fund as well, and there are a few logistics facility development projects underway.