APG and Manulife have backed a newly-launched GLP Vietnam logistics development fund, which will have an investment capacity of US$1.1bn (€971m).

The two institutions were among several new investors from Asia, Europe, North America and the Middle East to commit to GLP Vietnam Development Partners I (GLP VDP I).

GLP VDP I is seeded with six development sites offering a total land area of close to 900,000sqm, and the fund has a development pipeline of further opportunities.

It will focus on projects in Greater Hanoi and Greater Ho Chi Minh City, according to GLP.

Gerald Posthuma, Manulife’s chief investment officer of Asia, general accounts investment, and Kenny Lam, senior managing director and head of Asia real estate investments, said the investment in the GLP Vietnam Partnership was one of the group’s “first few real estate investments in the market, and bodes well with our long-term real estate strategy in the region”.

Graeme Torre, managing director and APG’s head of Asia-Pacific Real Estate, said the investment was APG’s first foray into Vietnam.

“With continued global supply chain shifts to Vietnam, a growing middle class to uphold economic growth, and having one of the fastest-growing e-commerce markets in Southeast Asia, we believe Vietnam logistics is an attractive opportunity for us to enter in the region,” he said.

Craig A. Duffy, GLP managing director, fund management, said GLP saw similarities between Vietnam and the group’s logistics businesses in China and India.

GLP entered the Vietnam market in 2020 through a joint venture with SEA Logistics Partners.

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