Merrill, CLSA raising big Asian property funds
Written on April 14, 2008
U.S. investment bank Merrill Lynch and Asian brokerage CLSA are separately raising investment funds focused on Asian property, indicating continued confidence in the region’s economies, executives from the two companies said at the weekend.
Merrill Lynch (MER.N: Quote, Profile, Research) is raising a Pacific Rim real estate fund worth around $2.5-$3 billion, Damian Chunilal, Merrill’s head of Pacific Rim origination, told reporters on Sunday.
It will invest in a variety of types of property across the Pacific Rim, including in India, Australia, Japan and the rest of Asia, he said.
CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets is raising a new roughly $1 billion pan-Asia property fund that will focus on China, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore, Chairman Rob Morrison told Reuters.
Both executives were speaking on the sidelines of the Boao Forum for Asia, being held on the southern Chinese island province of Hainan.
The launch of the funds comes at a time when many investors are looking to Asia as a safe haven in the wake of the credit crunch set off by U.S first cash advance. subprime woes, as others shop for deals in the United States and Europe.
Merrill’s fund is part of an increasing push by the largest U.S. brokerage to build up third-party funds to do principal investing, Chunilal said.
“That’s very much going to be a model that’s repeated in the future with different types of funds,” he said. “That’s something we are very actively exploring at the moment.”
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