GLP Hits Final Close on China Logistics RMB Income Fund

GLP on Monday announced the final closing of its sixth China income fund with RMB 7.6 billion ($1.05 billion) in assets under management, as the industrial specialist demonstrates its ability to raise funds from local institutions aiming to benefit from the e-commerce-powered cash flows available from mainland warehouse assets.

Investors in GLP China Income Fund VI include leading Chinese insurance companies and other existing institutional investment partners, the developer said in a release. The onshore vehicle is seeded with 20 stabilised modern logistics assets across 19 cities with a total leasable area of 2.13 million square metres (22.9 million square feet).

“The closing of GLP CIF VI affirms our ability to raise capital from new and existing investment partners seeking stable returns from our income fund series,” said Teresa Zhuge, executive vice chairman of GLP China. “As part of our progressive transition to an asset-light and capital-efficient business model, we continue to adopt a flexible and disciplined approach to execute on our asset monetisation and capital recycling plans.”

GLP’s latest milestone comes after the firm in July revealed the creation of the GLP China Income Partners V offshore fund through a $5 billion recapitalisation of the portfolio developed within GLP China Logistics Fund I, marking a full exit of the latter vehicle.

E-Commerce Momentum

GLP described the new fund’s seed portfolio as comprising core income-generating properties to ensure strong and recurrent cash-flow generation, as China’s infrastructure and new economy sectors continue to draw support from the growth of e-commerce and robust investor demand.

“We aim to maximise value for our investors through active asset management underpinned by our emphasis on sustainability,” Zhuge said.

Rated by ANREV as the top real estate fund manager in Asia Pacific, GLP has raised $13.3 billion in equity for its logistics funds globally in the past 12 months, including the $1.3 billion first closing of its Europe Income Partners III, the $3.7 billion final closing of its Japan Development Partners IV and the launch of its $1 billion maiden Vietnam fund.

The warehouse builder has also expanded into digital infrastructure, including with February’s launch of a $12 billion Japan data centre platform that aims to deliver 900 megawatts of total power capacity in key metro areas of Asia’s second-largest economy.

GLP operates in China, Japan, India, Vietnam, Europe, Brazil and the US, with $120 billion in assets under management in real estate and private equity across 75 million square metres of gross floor area. In China alone, the fund manager’s logistics assets and land holdings span 49 million square metres of GFA, with real estate AUM totalling $45 billion.

Shed Sector Still Appeals

Despite China’s property crisis and volatile economic climate marked by frequent COVID lockdowns, mainland sheds have sustained their appeal to global investors.

Last month, the asset management division of Goldman Sachs announced the formation of a joint venture with Shanghai-based developer Sun Jade to seek investment opportunities in logistics and other new infrastructure real estate assets in China’s top-tier cities and the surrounding areas.

The JV partners are seeding their cooperation with a 240,000 square metre initial portfolio of four warehouse projects in the greater Shanghai area, with additional capital committed for future acquisition and development opportunities.

In July, Singapore’s GIC set up a joint venture with ESR to buy 873,000 square metres of logistics assets across regions including the Yangtze River Delta, the Greater Bay Area and Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei from funds managed by the Hong Kong-listed developer for $730 million.

In June, the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, broadened its exposure to China’s logistics sector by teaming up with local developer Chaintouch to begin developing a 190,000 square metre warehouse facility in Hebei province outside Beijing.