Mapletree to launch new property fund in Vietnam
Print 
Singaporean real estate firm Mapletree Investments is planning to launch three property funds worth $2 billion to invest in commercial and mixed-use properties in Vietnam, Japan and China over the next few years, newswirechannelnewsasia.com reported.
Mapletree, the real estate arm of Temasek Holdings, hopes to attract institutional investors into its three new Asian property funds. The firm said that investors are looking at annual internal rate of returns of between 12 and 22 percent from these funds.
Mapletree will use US$300 million-$500 million for the Vietnam Fund, which focuses on mixed retail, office and serviced apartment projects in major Vietnamese cities. It is expected to be launched in 2013.
Mapletree Investments counts a retail and serviced apartment property in Hanoi and an upcoming retail and serviced apartment project in Ho Chi Minh City. It is targeting an annual rate of return of 22 percent.
A similar amount will be used for the Japan Fund to buy more office properties in the outskirts of Tokyo city centre as well as Osaka and Nagoya.
Three of such properties are already present in the fund as seed assets. The firm is targeting a 12 percent rate of return from the fund and it is expected to launch this year.
Mapletree will also use US$500 million to US$1 billion for its new China fund. The fund's assets will be in first and second tier Chinese cities. The fund will acquire mixed developments with residential components in China.
It has also announced a 90 percent increase in its profit after tax to S$747 million for the full year ended March 31, driven by higher rental contributions from its assets.
As of 31 March 2011, the total real estate assets owned and managed by Mapletree reached S$15.4 billion, up 19 percent from S$12.9 billion a year ago.
