Aberdeen Standard Investments has entered a joint venture to invest in Japanese and other Asia Pacific real estate markets, primarily targeting residential property.
The asset manager’s partner is Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank (Sumi Trust) and will cover “multi-family” housing and student accommodation, among other sectors.
Aberdeen Standard and the Japanese trust bank’s subsidiary, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Real Estate Investment Management Co, will co-invest and co-manage the joint venture which aims to acquire newbuild properties and older residential properties that have potential for either renovation, repositioning or conversion.
Kang Puay Ju, head of real estate for Asia Pacific and global head of real estate multi-manager at Aberdeen, said: “Over the next decade cities in the Asian Pacific region are set to experience very strong growth, fuelled by both domestic and foreign immigration to major metropolises, which bode well for housing demand over the medium-term.”
In Japan, especially the largest cities like Tokyo and Osaka, there is a trend towards urbanisation that provides the “structural underpinning” for the joint venture’s strategy, the asset manager said. This is bolstered by significant rental and yield gaps between new and older buildings, while similar trends amongst the Asia Pacific region’s largest cities will support investments beyond Japan.
Aberdeen Standard added that environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors will be “fully embedded into the investment process” and aims to support sustainable social development through ESG-screened investments in Japan.
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