Manulife, INA Reveal Indonesia Real Assets Tie-Up

Manulife Investment Management has joined forces with Indonesia’s sovereign wealth fund on a strategic partnership targeting infrastructure development and real estate plays in Southeast Asia’s largest country.

The tie-up between Canada’s Manulife IM and the Indonesia Investment Authority aims to invest proprietary capital and collectively raise capital from domestic and international third-party investors, the partners said Tuesday. They intend to pursue investment opportunities in various logistics assets in Indonesia and explore additional joint investments through a fund structure.

Financial terms of the partnership weren’t disclosed, but Manulife IM sees strong fundamentals and potential to expand its footprint and portfolio in Asia Pacific, said Kenny Lam, chief investment officer and head of transactions for APAC real estate.

“Our plan is to acquire, develop and manage high-quality industrial assets and data centres in Indonesia together with INA to achieve sustainable returns as well as ESG objectives,” Lam said.

Long-Term Commitment

Launched in 2021, INA has deployed more than $3 billion alongside co-investors including sovereign wealth funds, pension funds and asset managers.

Last year the fund partnered with Hong Kong-listed ESR and Mitsubishi Corporation to invest in three ESR-developed logistics parks in Indonesia. Announced in May, the venture marked the first real estate investment for INA and the first logistics asset in the country for Mitsubishi’s MC Urban Development Indonesia, a wholly owned local unit of the Japanese conglomerate.

Last September, INA announced a joint venture with China’s GDS to develop a countrywide data centre platform in Indonesia. The JV’s first project is the ongoing development of a hyperscale campus at Nongsa Digital Park in Batam.

The latest partnership with Manulife IM aligns with the sovereign fund’s efforts to enhance Indonesia’s logistics and digital infrastructure, said INA CEO Ridha Wirakusumah.

“Our joint efforts are rooted in a commitment to responsible, long-term investment, reflecting INA and Manulife Investment Management’s shared dedication to supporting Indonesia’s development in a sustainable manner,” Wirakusumah said. “We aim to create value that benefits not just our partners but the wider Indonesian community.”

Jakarta Shed Venture

Manulife IM previously partnered with Indonesian warehouse specialist PT Mega Manunggal Property and Singapore’s Alpha Investment Partners (now Keppel Fund Management) on a $200 million logistics joint venture.

The platform, announced in late 2019 and set up in 2020, acquired stakes in three single-tenanted properties and one multi-tenanted logistics facility in the Greater Jakarta area from MMP to create a seed portfolio with a total net lettable area of over 163,000 square metres (1.7 million square feet).

Manulife IM’s Asia real estate team manages $3.1 billion assets totalling 14.2 million square feet (1.3 million square metres).