Real estate investment manager CBRE Global Investors and logistics developer and investor Logos have raised RMB 5.5bn (US$786m) in the final closing of their CBRE LOGOS China Logistics Club fund.
The fund received equity commitments from mainland Chinese and overseas investors, and will target income-producing logistics and industrial assets in major Chinese cities.
CBRE GI will oversee fund and investment management, while LOGOS will be responsible for acquisition management, development, leasing and asset management.
“This fund provides the opportunity to capitalise on compelling fundamentals in the China logistics sector which is underpinned by increasing domestic consumption, e-commerce, pent-up demand for quality warehouse facilities and China’s expanding middle class,” said Matthew Yao, head of China for CBRE GI, in a statement.
The new fund follows CBRE GI’s latest Asia Pacific-focused value-add property fund, CBRE Asia Value Partners V, which raised US$900m in its final closing last month.
Other logistics funds and partnerships have also been busy in the Chinese market recently, including Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC and Hong Kong-listed ESR’s US$500m Chinese logistics joint venture that was launched in January.
Warehouse investor and developer GLP launched a new RMB 15bn (US$2.1bn) Chinese logistics fund last December, while Logistics property specialist Prologis and HIP China Logistics Investments committed a further US$882m to their latest Chinese logistics joint venture during the same month.
“Modern logistics which serves domestic demand has been our preferred structural investment theme for several years now,” said Shane Taylor, head of Asia Pacific strategy and research at CBRE GI.
“This theme has been put to the ultimate test in recent months in China. As the COVID-19 control measures required mass lock-downs of households across the country, the key sector occupiers of e-commerce and third party logistics firms, have worked hard to deliver essential goods for household consumption.”
CBRE GI has US$11.9bn in assets under management in Asia Pacific, spanning core, value-add and opportunistic private real estate, listed real assets and infrastructure.
Logos has more than 6m sq.m. of property owned and under development, with operations across Australia, China, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, India and New Zealand.
ARA Asset Management acquired a majority stake in Logos via its logistics arm last month, joining the firm’s existing shareholders, LOGOS’ founders and Ivanhoé Cambridge.