CapitaLand (CATL.SI: Quote, Profile , Research), Southeast Asia's most valuable developer, is set to launch two more property funds this year

CapitaLand (CATL.SI: Quote, Profile , Research), Southeast Asia's most valuable developer, is set to launch two more property funds this year that will invest in India and China with initial funds of S$500 million (US$325 million) each, its Chief Executive Liew Mun Leong said on Monday.

"By the end of the year, our assets under management could hit S$17-18 billion," Liew told the Reuters Real Estate Summit in Singapore. He said the group's current assets under management were about S$14 billion.

Liew said he hoped the group would eventually generate 15-20 percent of its pre-tax profit from its fund management business, up from the less than 10 percent contribution it makes now.

"We're still a real estate company essentially, but this would help us in our overall domain knowledge," he said.


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CapitaLand, 43-percent owned by Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings [TEM.UL], has been aggressive in expanding its financial services business and controls five real estate investment trusts (REITs), including CapitaMall (CMLT.SI: Quote, Profile , Research) -- Singapore's most-valuable property trust.

Liew said the group could launch another five property trusts based on its global portfolio, which includes office buildings in China and apartments in Japan.

CapitaLand is also looking to expand its entertainment and leisure properties division, whose first investment was in a casino and shopping complex in Macau, Liew said.

"Vietnam is a possibility and China is dying for entertainment resorts," Liew said.

But he declined to say how much the investments would be and where they would be located.

CapitaLand earns up to 80 percent of its profit abroad with projects in markets such as Australia, China and India. ($1=1.537 Singapore Dollar) (See www.reutersrealestate.com for the new global service for real estate professionals from Reuters) (For more stories from the Reuters Real Estate Summit, see [ID:nSP151663])