Mapletree Investments has raised over $500 million for its Emerging Asia logistics development strategy.
It said in a recent announcement that the capital includes $250 million secured during the first close of Mapletree Emerging Growth Asia Logistics Private Trust (MEGA) and more than $250 million raised via a joint venture and direct co-investments into selected development projects in Malaysia.
Participating investors include sovereign wealth funds, a pension fund and a national investment company, among others.
The fund aims to raise an additional $200 million for the second close targeted by early next year.
MEGA will focus on logistics development opportunities across Malaysia, Vietnam and India where growing domestic consumption, manufacturing activity and supply chain diversification continue to drive demand for modern logistics facilities. Meanwhile, there is “a structural undersupply” of institutional-grade logistics space in the region, the firm added.
MEGA has an initial seeded portfolio comprising four development projects in Malaysia, one development project in India and two warehouses in Vietnam.
Altogether, the entire strategy is expected to comprise a portfolio of assets with total investment value of $2.1 billion when fully deployed.
The fund itself is targeting to deliver an internal rate of return in excess of mid-teens.
MEGA is Mapletree’s 18th private real estate fund and the third in its recent series of logistics development-focused private funds, following vehicles dedicated to the China and Japan markets.
Logistics is Mapletree’s largest asset class, accounting for approximately 43% of the group’s assets under management, or S$32.4 billion.
The logistics sector across Southeast Asia is still attracting a lot of capital. ESR and the Indonesia Investment Authority recently said they will jointly invest in two logistics facilities in Indonesia. Meanwhile, US-based infrastructure investor I Squared Capital has invested in Jakarta-based logistics and cold-storage company Cella, after backing Philippine cold-storage company Royal Cold Storage.
