CapitaLand Investment (CLI) has secured RMB1.2bn (€156m) from an unnamed institutional investor in China in the first close of its sixth onshore fund.
The Singapore-based group is divesting one of its assets, Ascendas iHub Suzhou, for RMB1.4bn as a seed asset of the China Business Park RMB Fund III (CBPF III) fund.
CLI will maintain a sponsor stake in CBPF III and will continue to manage the property to generate recurring fee income.
Ascendas iHub Suzhou, located in Dushu Lake Science & Education Innovation District, comprises four mid-rise and 11 low-rise buildings with a total gross floor area of approximately 170,800sqm.
Kara Wang, chief investment officer of CLI China, said: “The launch of our sixth RMB onshore fund brings the total domestic capital raised to nearly RMB50bn since 2021.”
Wang said the recapitalisation of Ascendas iHub Suzhou demonstrated the disciplined execution of the group’s strategy to recycle quality assets from its balance sheet into its RMB funds as part of its “China for China” capital management strategy.
“This marks our second recapitalisation this year following the divestment of a 95% stake in Capital Square Beijing into a joint venture. With the government’s continued focus on technology and industrial transformation, we see prime business park opportunities for CBPF III, both from CLI’s portfolio as well as third-party assets.”
Puah Tze Shyang, CEO of CLI China, said: “Our focus in China remains to optimise our portfolio and expand domestic capital partnerships.
“With CLI’s strong balance sheet, we have the financial capacity to seed new funds as we further grow CLI in an asset-light and capital-efficient way.”
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