JLL Adds to New Corporate Finance Team for Greater China

Real estate consultancy JLL has appointed Henrietta Yap as a Director of Corporate Finance for Greater China, as the firm seeks to expand its foothold in the region.

Yap joins JLL from AT Capital Group, a Singaporean private investment firm, where she focused on private equity investment across China, Europe and Southeast Asia, according to a JLL statement.

In addition to spending the most recent year at AT, Yap previously worked in private equity investment for Standard Chartered Bank in both Singapore and Beijing, and covered investment analysis, investor relations and research at Mapletree and Keppel Land.

For her new role assisting JLL’s clients with strategic corporate advisory, capital raising, debt advisory and structured finance across mainland China and Hong Kong, Yap will be reporting to fellow Standard Chartered veteran Eddie Yeh, the consultancy’s Head of Corporate Finance for Greater China.

JLL Expands Financial Consulting Services

Yeh joined JLL in Hong Kong in August of last year taking on a newly created role leading the firm’s corporate finance team in Greater China. In May 2016, the firm brought on board Tim du Temple to head its debt advisory business in Australia to better service clients seeking non-bank lending options for real estate investment.

Yap will be working with JLL clients in Greater China to meet their investment goals, including fund or joint venture structuring, mergers and acquisitions, and capital and debt raising for financial restructures, JLL said.

JLL is banking on demand for advice on financial structuring for acquisition as investors in mainland China, Hong Kong and Singapore play an increasing role in major real estate investments globally. According to JLL data, China overtook the US to become the largest cross-border real estate investor in the third quarter of 2016 as investors from the world’s second largest economy had acquired nearly $18 billion into commercial property assets internationally in the first three quarters of last year.

“We are increasing the depth of our specialist talent in corporate finance so that we can provide this valuable, strategic advice alongside our existing spectrum of services, bringing together investment banking with global commercial property expertise,” said Stuart Crow, JLL’s Head of Capital Markets for Asia Pacific.