The new fund, with 30 billion yen of equity, will invest in business-related properties such as data centres, research and development facilities, and office buildings just outside central Tokyo and other big cities, Terence Heng, general manager of Mapletree Investments Japan, told Reuters in an interview.
“We need to get ideal properties now. It’s likely to become difficult to see those attractive deals if we miss the chance now ... The opportunity window is open for a year or two, or even shorter period than that,” he said.
Mapletree, which opened its Japan office in 2007, has been ramping up its investment in Japanese logistics facilities mainly for its Mapletree Logistic Trust, which owns warehouses and other industrial properties across Asia.
In Japan, the Singaporean company manages 12 properties, mostly logistics assets, worth 60 billion yen. But it aims to more than triple this to 200 billion yen in the next two to three years before competition heats up in the market, Heng said.
”We should proactively buy properties if they are good,” he said.
By Reuters