JPMorgan Asset Management has raised $600 million for its Greater China Property Fund.

The closed-end JPMorgan Greater China Property Fund received capital commitments from institutional and high-net-worth investors from the US, Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

The fund will be invested across all real estate sectors in the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Macao Special Administrative Region and Taiwan Province. Its primary focus is the development of new properties and investments will be made across the office, residential, retail and hospitality sectors by creating project-level joint venture arrangements with multiple operating partners in Greater China. It seeks to capitalise on China's rapid economic growth, urbanisation, rising income levels and strong demand for real estate.

The fund extends the JPMorgan Asset Management Real Estate and Infrastructure platform of products in Asia. It has a dedicated team of 18 investment professionals based in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and led by David Chen and Douglas Sung. Chen is the CIO and head of JPMorgan Asset Management—Real Estate Asia. Sung is head of portfolio management for the company.

Chen says the fund has already closed three deals, including an office and retail development in Shanghai, a residential project in Wuxi and a convertible debt investment in an unnamed residential development in southern China. He adds the fund has a robust pipeline with other projects under consideration.

"China's top real estate developers and operators, with whom we have longstanding relationships, are seeking joint venture capital to sustain their growth," says Joe Azelby, global head of JPMorgan Asset Management for real estate and infrastructure. "Our ability to bring global property expertise and best practices along with investment capital has made us the ideal venture partner for China's best real estate companies."

This is the second closed-end opportunistic fund that JPMorgan Asset Management has closed in Asia. In 2006, the firm raised more than $360 million from non-retail investors for its JPMorgan India Property Fund, one of the first of its kind to focus on the India real estate market.

(China Daily via Agencies May 28, 2008)