Malaysia’s largest public sector pension fund, Kumpulan Wang Persaraan Diperbadankan (KWAP), has appointed real estate investment firm Castleforge as a global co-general investment manager to handle an investment mandate.
London-based Castleforge and local Malaysian partner Foster Capital have launched Catenary Capital, a new private equity real estate manager, to oversee an initial MYR500m (€109m) investment on behalf of KWAP’s initiative known as Dana Pemacu.
Castleforge said Catenary Capital will focus on sourcing Sharia-compliant real estate assets, with a mandate spanning both domestic Malaysian and global markets, including Europe.
Michael Kovacs, founding partner of Castleforge, said: “Malaysia presents a compelling long-term opportunity, both for inward investment and outbound capital flow into European real estate markets. The Dana Pemacu initiative reflects a serious commitment to further develop our relationships with institutional investors in the region.
“Our role as global co-GP is to bring the investment framework and operational discipline we have developed over 15 years in the UK and Europe, applying the same value-add approach that has underpinned our portfolio to a new and dynamic market.”
Hizzan Hamid, founding partner of Foster Capital, said: “Malaysia’s real estate market is at an inflection point. There is growing appetite from institutional capital, and a clear need for investment platforms that combine local market knowledge with global governance standards.
“Our partnership with Castleforge through Catenary Capital brings both, and positions us to build something genuinely differentiated.”
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