Logos is believed to have raised US$420m (€387.7m) from existing investors, Ivanhoé Cambridge and Bouwinvest, together with a new investor from the Gulf Co-operation Council, in the first close of its new China logistics development fund.

The amount raised gives the Logos China Logistics Venture 4 fund an investment capacity of US$800m, with the vehicle expected to have a second close later this year to lift purchasing power to more than US$1bn.

The fund will develop a diversified portfolio of facilities targetted at third party logistics and industrial tenants in greater Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and selected markets in the mid-west of China.

The investment is the first for Bouwinvest with Logos in China. The Dutch investor has previously invested with the pan-Asian logistics players in Singapore, while the unnamed Middle East institution is already invested in China (with other managers).

Tjarko Edzes, who heads Bouwinvest Asia-Pacific Investments, said current market conditions, and the way the venture was set-up, would enable the partners to secure attractive opportunities for logistics development.

George Agethen, Ivanhoé Cambridge’s senior vice president, Asia-Pacific, spoke of the continued solid performance” of its previous three China ventures with Logos as the rationale for entering into a fourth venture there with the pan-Asian logistics group.

Logos managing director and co-CEO, John Marsh, told IPE Real Assets that COVID-19 had impacted the Chinese logistics market, with Logos having to slow construction of its projects there.

But China had come out of the slowdown quickly, and all Logos projects in China, including one in Wuhan, were “back up and running”, he said.

Throughout the crisis, China’s e-commerce market had remained resilient, and food security had come to the fore.

“There is strong demand for cold storage facilities,” said Marsh, adding that Logos was focussed on building these.

While there was a “level of caution” among investors, the appetite for Chinese logistics investment was still there he added.

Logos had identified a pipeline for the fund and would be progressing with some strategic acquisitions over the coming months.

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