The Government of Singapore Investment Corporation, formally known as GIC, is investing efforts to expand its reach in European logistics and warehousing through a joint venture. GIC is Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund. It seeks to acquire and develop last-mile distribution centres and urban logistics assets on the continent.
It is reported that the financial terms of the venture have not been disclosed. The joint venture is an establishment between GIC and logistics investment manager Melcombe Partners. In recent years, GIC has been actively participating in acquisitions of global logistics assets.
Lee Kok Sun, chief investment officer for real estate at GIC, told the media, “The urban logistics sub-market will benefit from positive fundamentals, reinforced by increasing occupier demand due to accelerating ecommerce adoption and changing supply chain management strategies. We believe the venture’s focused strategy, with the management of a skilled partner such as Melcombe, will generate resilient returns in the long run. We look forward to expanding our partnerships and exploring further opportunities in this attractive sector.”
By definition, last-mile distribution services point to the last portion of work during delivery from logistics hub to the final destination. Recently, BNP Paribas in its report stated that Europe’s logistics and industrial sector has a ‘bright spot’ despite the protracted coronavirus pandemic.
That said, GIC has added 33 German retail logistics assets to its European warehouse platform P3 Logistic Parks.