Yishan to raise US$250m to buy Asian properties
Yishan Capital Partners, a real estate asset manager, plans to raise US$250 million next year to invest in properties across Southeast Asia.
The company, which has invested about US$50 million in Indonesia and Cambodia, plans to start raising funds in the first quarter of next year, managing partner John van Oost said. Yishan will invest in residential buildings, shopping malls and industrial projects such as warehouses in countries including Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines, he said.
Yishan is trying to capitalise on opportunities in Southeast Asia where a growing middle class, rising disposable incomes and changing lifestyles spur growth. Five Asian economies - Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam - along with China and India will outpace the rest of the world over the next two years, the IMF said in a report.
"If you want to have growth and capital appreciation, you have to go to emerging markets," van Oost said. "Indonesia looks the most promising market while Philippines will be the next big market."
Singapore-based Yishan will announce joint ventures in Indonesia next week, van Oost said. One of the ventures, with a Jakarta-based real estate firm, will manage shopping malls across Indonesia, while the other venture, with an industrial group, will build warehouses in Indonesia, he said. The company also plans to announce a residential project in Jakarta in early 2013, he said.
In Singapore, Yishan is focusing on shopping malls, while it will stay away from residential, office and industrial projects in the island city because prices are expensive and don't offer value, van Oost said.
Yishan will raise money from existing investors in Europe which are primarily pension and insurance companies.
