The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) has committed to a mixed-use project in China in a joint venture with Longfor Properties.
The 735,000sqm Times Paradise Walk project in Suzhou, in the Jiangsu Province, includes office, hotel, retail and residential space.
The latest joint venture sees CPPIB commit CNY1.25bn (€170m) to the scheme, with phased completion scheduled for between 2016 and 2019.
The investment by CPPIB follows last year’s decision to partner China Vanke, the largest residential developer in China, to invest $250m (€211m) in large cities across China with rising incomes and strong economic fundamentals.
Jimmy Phua, managing director and head of real estate investments at CPPIB in Asia, said the “long-term, strategic partnership” with Longfor would allow the pension fund to invest in large-scale, mixed-use and retail projects in China – a market with “long-term growth potential”.
CPPIB has also invested in China’s logistics sector.