REAL ESTATE - Kang Puay Ju, senior portfolio manager at Dutch pension fund ABP will join Aberdeen Asset Management's real estate arm's new Asian property fund, the asset manager announced.

"Her role will be to identify, evaluate and manage interesting investment opportunities for [the Asian Fund of property funds], in conjunction with Stockholm-based fund manager Bo Ljunglöf," the firm said.

Puay Ju joins from September 1, following the firm's bid to expand into the Asian property business by launching the Asian fund. She will be based in Singapore.

At ABP, Puay Ju was responsible for the establishment of the company's private real estate investment platform.

Aberdeen Property Investors manages has over €9bn under management in Europe; the firm now wants similar success in Asia.

"Property is increasingly a crucial component of institutional portfolios," Anders Åström, managing director of Aberdeen Property Investors indirect investment management, said.

"Investor demand is changing from focusing purely on domestic and/or regional markets to opportunities further afield that offer both diversification and the potential for higher returns," Åström added.