Hong Kong-based fund manager ESR Cayman recently raised $750 million in equity for a new core logistics fund targeting Japan, media reports said. The funds have been raised from notable investors such as the real estate division of France’s AXA Investment Managers.
ESR Cayman said in a statement that the investments in its ESR Japan Income Fund (ESR JIF) is a cornerstone commitment from its sovereign fund backer and it is targeting a gross asset value for the strategy of $10 billion by 2026.
ESR co-founder and co-chief executive Stuart Gibson told the media, “The secular trends fuelling modern logistics real estate growth is still nascent. Logistics facilities are getting larger and larger to meet the increasingly complex needs of the tenants and we are now seeing $1 billion warehousing values. The Japan Income Fund’s scalable structure combines diversification with a capacity to meet this increasing capital intensity.”
Earlier this year, it was reported that ESR was planning to develop a logistics park in India for an investment of around $45 million. The new logistics park will be developed at Chakan near Pune.
The project spreads over 38 acre and will serve as the hub for light manufacturing and logistics operations. The logistics park will be ESR’s second development in Chakan. The company said in a statement that of the 38 acres, 26 acres are already leased and will be delivered by May 2021.