Dutch pension investor APG Asset Management N.V. (APG) has invested $400 million in the ESR Korea Logistics Core Fund (The Fund) launched last week, according to an announcement on Tuesday.
The fund was set up by ESR Kendall Square, the Seoul-based subsidiary of Hong Kong-based real asset manager ESR Group, and is South Korea’s first perpetual open-ended core fund, a company statement said.
The initial portfolio of the fund comprises seven assets built in the past three-and-a-half years with a combined 1 million square metre of floorspace, it added.
Graeme Torre, Head of Real Estate, APG Asset Management Asia-Pacific, said, “With logistics and e-commerce tenants seeking high-quality modern warehouse space that can service growing domestic and global supply chains, we see significant long-term potential in South Korea.”
At the time of the fund launch, Thomas Nam, CEO, ESR Korea, said in a statement, “We expect modern logistics facilities, such as those in our core fund portfolio, to be increasingly sought after as they provide operational efficiencies for tenants.”
ESR is APAC’s largest real asset manager, with approximately $150 billion in total assets under management across key markets such as China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Singapore, India, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia.
APG, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments), and ESR first formed a joint venture in 2015 to develop and own a portfolio of institutional-grade, modern logistics real estate assets across South Korea. The partnership was extended in 2020 by setting up a second joint venture to double down on the fast-growing sector.