LaSalle Investment Management has said its Asia Opportunity Fund III will have a potential warchest of EUR 8.2 bn to spend on real estate in developed parts of Asia. Announcing the final closing of the fund, LaSalle said it had raised EUR 2 bn, which with leverage would give the fund a total buying power of EUR 6.8-8.2 bn.

LaSalle Investment Management has said its Asia Opportunity Fund III will have a potential warchest of EUR 8.2 bn to spend on real estate in developed parts of Asia. Announcing the final closing of the fund, LaSalle said it had raised EUR 2 bn, which with leverage would give the fund a total buying power of EUR 6.8-8.2 bn.

LaSalle Asia Opportunity Fund III was launched in 2007 to focus on Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore and China. The fund will seek to acquire, reposition, develop and redevelop assets across all property types. The fund's predecessors include LaSalle Asia Recovery, which launched in 2002 and is currently disinvesting, and LaSalle Asia Opportunity Fund II, launched in 2005 and currently managing assets.

Late last year LaSalle completed fundraising for its Japan Logistics Fund II late last year. That fund raised JPY 90 bn (EUR 570 mln), giving it a total buying power of JPY 260-360 JPY (EUR 1.6-2.3 bn).

LaSalle said it expects its assets under management in Asia to double in the next three years as these funds become invested and as strong fundamentals and above-trend economic growth continue to support a positive outlook for the Asian real estate sector. LaSalle has about $11 bn in Asian property under management.

Philip Ling, managing director, LaSalle Investment Management: 'Asia remains a key strategic priority for our business and we have a very active plan to grow our operations in the region. We see a lot of opportunity in Japan, which contains 50% of the total value of real estate assets in Asia, although we also see opportunities in Korea, China and elsewhere in Asia Pacific. We will continue investing in large scale, modern warehouses in Japan through JLF II, as we believe this sector offers a lot of potential, with highly efficient warehouses still comprising a very small proportion of the overall storage market.'

A member of the Jones Lang LaSalle group, LaSalle Investment Management has about EUR 37 bn of assets under management.