Dutch financial giant ING Group's majority-owned property investment fund will continue to explore Hong Kong's real-estate market following its debut purchase last week of 10 apartments at South Bay Palace in Repulse Bay.
IP Property Fund Asia is the latest foreign fund showing interests in Hong Kong after GRA, of the United States, Australia's Lend Lease and Grosvenor Land, of Britain.
The ING fund made its first foray into the market last week with a deal to buy 10 units at Tower II of South Bay Palace from Empire International for HK$144 million, representing an average price of HK$6,430 per square foot.
Robert Lie, managing director of IP Real Estate Asset Management (Asia), which manages the fund, said it had spent 60 per cent of the fund's US$193 million capital so far and it could borrow at a debt-to-equity ratio of one-to-one for further investments.
IP Property Fund is 52 per cent owned by ING's property arm ING Real Estate and 20 per cent by CapitaLand, of Singapore. The remaining equity comes from MN Services, which manages the Dutch Metal Workers Pension Fund, and Australian insurance group ING Life.
IP Real Estate Asset Management is a 50-50 joint venture between ING Real Estate and CapitaLand.
Mr Lie said the fund had been looking for properties in Hong Kong for a year and would continue to allocate capital in the SAR.
