James Lim To Run Real Estate Funds Division at CapitaLand

Former HSBC real estate finance executive James Lim is joining CapitaLand, where he will run the private equity funds business of the Singaporean property group, according to an internal email seen by Mingtiandi.

Effective November 1, Lim will take the reins as CEO of CapitaLand Investment Management (CLIM), reporting directly to group CEO and president Lim Ming Yan. The new job is likely to mean a move to Singapore for Hong Kong-based Lim, who stepped down from his previous role as Head of Real Estate Finance for Asia Pacific with HSBC in August.

CapitaLand Boosts Private Equity Leadership

The new senior level hire comes as CapitaLand, already Southeast Asia’s largest developer, moves to step up its business managing private equity real estate funds.

Backed by Singaporean investment firm Temasek Holdings, the government-linked property conglomerate already manages 14 real estate private equity funds and five REITs with a total of over S$47.2 billion ($33.8 billion) in assets under management as of March 31, according to the group’s corporate website. The internal email announcing Lim’s hiring states that CapitaLand plans to elevate the importance of its private equity fund management platform.

Lim joins CapitaLand after spending three years with HSBC.  The Korean-American executive joined HSBC in July 2014, where he helped to build up the firm’s financing platform for commercial real estate and hotel deals across the region. Lim has over 15 years of investment banking experience, including senior roles in real estate finance at Morgan Stanley, BNP Paribas, ANZ and Lehman Brothers. At CapitaLand Lim will be the only non-Singaporean on the company’s executive committee.

Funds Cover Singapore, China and More

CapitaLand was ranked as the top fund manager in Asia Pacific in terms of total assets under management, according to a 2017 survey by industry non-profits ANREV and INREV which tracked the performance of managers of non-listed real estate vehicles.

CapitaLand closed a $300 million private equity fund targetting grade A commercial real estate in Vietnam this past August. Last October, CapitaLand set up its largest private equity partnership by closing its $1.5 billion Raffles City China Investment Partners III fund focussed on prime integrated developments in China’s gateway cities.