The fund management division of Southeast Asia’s largest real estate firm continues to build up its team, with CapitaLand Investment Management (CLIM) having added a former Apollo Global Management partner to its leadership this week, according to an internal memo obtained by Mingtiandi.
The Singapore-based firm, which ranked first among Asian real estate fund managers in terms of assets under management in Asia according to a recent survey, brought on board Caleb Shen on Monday as managing director for fund management, reporting to CLIM chief executive James Lim.
The new hire comes nine months after Lim took the helm at CLIM, and just four months after CapitaLand Group’s CEO Lim Ming Yan vowed to grow the group’s total assets under management to S$100 billion ($76 billion) by 2020..
Adding CapitaLand to a Resume That Includes LIM and Venator
Shen comes to CLIM after joining Apollo in 2015, where he became a partner last year. At the US-based private firm, Shen raised $870 million for an Asia-focussed real estate investment fund and led the NYSE-listed company’s operations in Greater China.
Shen has held numerous posts in the real estate business in East Asia, including serving as vice president of acquisitions at LaSalle Investment Management, vice president at Asia Pacific Land, head of China at CBRE and director of China Investments at Venator Real Estate Capital Partners.
In his new role at CLIM, the University of Chicago MBA has been tasked with assisting in the development and growth of new discretionary real estate funds and investments.
CapitaLand Ramps Up Asia Fund Management Efforts
According to its 2017 annual report, CapitaLand manages 15 private funds and five listed REITs (CapitaLand Mall Trust, CapitaLand Commercial Trust, Ascott Residence Trust, CapitaLand Retail China Trust and CapitaLand Malaysia Mall Trust).
Total fund AUM at the end of 2017 was S$51.2 billion ($37.9 billion), up from S$39.2 billion ($29.0 billion) in 2013 and S$47.9 billion ($35.5 billion) in 2016. According to a survey earlier this year by ANREV, CapitaLand is the largest property fund manager in Asia, with AUM of $61.3 billion, ranking . Singapore rival Mapletree Investments which had S$46.3 billion ($32.3 billion) of AUM.
In 2017, CapitaLand successfully closed on $300 million in funding for its CapitaLand Vietnam Commercial Fund I targetting grade A space in the country, and in late 2016, the company closed on its biggest fund ever, the $1.5 billion Raffles City China Investment Partners III.
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