SINGAPORE: Keppel Capital Holdings Pte. Ltd., in collaboration with Keppel Land Limited, has launched the Keppel Vietnam Fund, a Vietnam-focused real estate fund with a target fund size of US$600 million, a news release said.
The Fund has achieved its first closing of US$400 million, includingco-investment commitment from a global institutional investor. Leveraging Keppel Land’s strong track record in Vietnam, the Fund seeks to invest alongside Keppel Land in real estate projects, including residential developments, commercial properties as well as mixed-use projects and townships in Vietnam, with a focus on Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi.
Alpha Investment Partners Limited, the private fund management arm of Keppel Capital, will be the fund manager, while Keppel Land will be the development and property manager of the properties in the Fund.
When fully leveraged and invested, the Fund will potentially have assets under management of approximately US$1 billion.
The launch of the Fund is in line with Keppel’s Vision 2030, which seeks to propel Keppel’s growth as one integrated business and a powerhouse of solutions for sustainable urbanisation, with an asset management arm to fund the Group’s growth and provide a platform for capital recycling.
Through a OneKeppel approach that harnesses the synergies of Keppel Capital and Keppel Land, the Group can create value for stakeholders at different stages of the value chain, and in the process, capture new profit pools that might not be available to individual business entities.
Ms Christina Tan, CEO of Keppel Capital, said, “We are pleased to launch our inaugural Vietnam-focused real estate fund, which will allow Keppel Capital to expand into a new geography and strengthen our product offerings to global investors seeking quality real assets.
“The successful first closing of the Fund, even amid the COVID-19pandemic, demonstrates investors’ confidence in our ability to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns through investing in the growing real estate sector in Vietnam. By tapping into Vietnam’s sound economic and market fundamentals, as well asharnessing the collective strengths of Keppel Capital and Keppel Land, we are well-placed to capture compelling investment opportunities and create value for investors.”
Mr Tan Swee Yiow, CEO of Keppel Land, said, “Keppel Land is a pioneer and one of the largest foreign real estate investors in Vietnam. We have been operating in the country for close to three decades, with a quality portfolio which includes Grade A offices, residential properties, retail malls, integrated townships and serviced apartments.
“Our strong track record in building and operating developments across various property segments, as well as extensive local network, will enable the Fund to access proprietary deal flows, and allow Keppel to enhance the returns from its property business by tapping investor capital. In addition, the capital raised from the Fund will support Keppel Land’s efforts to scale up our presence in Vietnam and adopt an asset-light strategy with lower capital requirements.”
Among Southeast Asian countries, Vietnam has one of the fastest growing economies2 and the third largest population at over 90 million.
In addition to the steady economic and population growth, the underlying macro trends of increasing urbanisation, growing middle class and its attractiveness as a destination for foreign direct investments, underpin the long-term growth in Vietnam’s real estate sector.
Leave a Reply