US-based investment firm KKR & Co said it had closed its first fund targeting real estate investments in Asia Pacific at $1.7 billion. The announcement comes days after KKR closed its inaugural Asia infrastructure fund, as the private equity powerhouse expands its platforms in the region. Increased domestic consumption, productivity and urbanization – combined with the acceleration of e-commerce and platform-based businesses and the evolution of the traditional office landscape – is fundamentally reshaping the region’s real estate sector.
Fund is also looking at opportunities in countries such as South Korea, which has recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic. KKR’s real estate fundraising comes as private equity firms globally have expanded from a model of buying out companies to turn around and sell for profit. They now invest through a range of alternative asset management products including infrastructure, real estate, hedge funds and credit. In Asia Pacific, it has deployed more than $1.5 billion of equity across about 20 real estate transactions since 2011. Its portfolio includes office tower Namsan Square in Seoul, Oasis Shopping Centre in Australia’s Gold Coast and Hong Kong retail assets Lake Silver and Parkside.