GLOBAL - Pramerica Real Estate Investors has closed its private, open-end fund Pramerica AsiaRetail.

The SGD$3bn (€1.7bn) fund, which invests in shopping centres on behalf of institutional investors, focuses on retail properties in Singapore and Malaysia.

The vehicle consolidates the company's closed-end Asian Retail Mall funds into a private, open-ended property fund for institutional investors looking to take advantage of opportunities in Asia's growing retail sector.

Pramerica AsiaRetail invests in a core property portfolio of mainly suburban shopping malls in Singapore.

Pramerica currently manages 11 retail assets with a net leasable area of more than 3m square feet in Singapore and Malaysia on behalf of investors in the former Asian Retail Mall funds.

In August, Pramerica Real Estate Investors announced it had raised approximately £100m (€163m) - mainly from corporate pension schemes - for a fund targeting UK properties.

Earlier this year, the firm also completed its capital raising programme for its debut European real estate debt fund, securing £492m in commitments from institutional investors.