Composition Capital forms Macau residential JV

Amsterdam-headquartered fund manager Composition Capital Partners has formed a joint venture partnership with a residential property developer in Macau.

The joint venture reflects the increasing inflows of private equity into the Asian real estate markets. Swisslake, real estate advisory firm, reported this week that Asian private equity real estate funds have been boosted by economic optimism in the region. A total of 28 new funds raised $11.2 bn (EUR 7.2 bn) in H1 2011, a level not seen since H1 2008.

'These figures already surpass numbers for the entire year of 2009 and are almost similar to numbers recorded for the entire year of 2010,' according to Swisslake.

The Composition partnership, concluded in July 2011, has a five-year term and will seek to develop affordable housing for first-time buyers currently priced out of the typically high-end apartment market in the special administrative region of China. The plan is to provide this demand with carefully designed studio & one-bedroom apartments.

Composition said that the joint venture's strategy was underpinned by the strength of the economy in Macau, stability of employment, increasing working population and demand for affordable units.

The partnership concluded its first investment earlier this month, with the acquisition of a 26-apartment development project in an infill-location in Macau's old town. The scheme is to be completed in 2013.

Composition Capital Partners is an established and independent fund manager with over $800 mln (EUR 533 mln) under management, with two additional funds for Europe and Asia to be launched in 2011. Composition currently has a 17-member team in offices in Hong Kong and Amsterdam. Four principals own and manage the company.