GLP has announced the establishment of GLP Vietnam Development Partners I with an investment capacity of US$1.1 billion. The fund has received commitments from a well-diversified investor group across Asia, Europe, North America and the Middle East representing pension funds, sovereign wealth funds and insurance companies.
Through this transaction, GLP welcomes several new investors to its fund management platform including the Dutch pension fund manager APG Asset Management and Toronto-headquartered global financial services provider, Manulife.
GLP VDP I, which will focus on developing modern and environmentally-friendly logistics facilities in Greater Hanoi and Greater Ho Chi Minh City, is seeded with six development sites with a total land area of close to 900,000sq m and has a robust development pipeline of further opportunities. It is set to be one of the largest logistics development funds in Southeast Asia .
Craig A. Duffy, managing director, Fund Management, said, “Institutional investment in APAC’s logistics sector has been strong and within Southeast Asia, Vietnam is one of the most attractive markets given its population dynamics, growing economy and middle class which support domestic consumption. We see similarities between Vietnam and our logistics businesses in China and India and know we can leverage our expertise and knowledge from our experiences in those markets to create a sustainable, market-leading business in Vietnam.”
Kent Yang, a founding partner of SLP, said, “We are very excited about the establishment of GLP VDP I. Vietnam is the right place at the right time for SLP, and we have a long-term view to grow our business here. With the shift of supply chain and shortage of modern logistic facilities, this creates tremendous opportunity and demand for SLP’s logistics infrastructure.” Chih Cheung, a founding partner of SLP, added, “Vietnam’s logistics industry is also experiencing strong growth due to strong domestic consumption from a rising middle class and to rapid e-commerce adoption. We thank and welcome the investors into our fund and look forward to serving our global and local customers with GLP-SLP’s unique national network and large integrated platform.”
Graeme Torre, Managing Director and APG’s Head of Asia Pacific Real Estate, said, “With the continued global supply chain shifts to Vietnam, a growing middle class to uphold economic growth, as well as having one of the fastest growing e-commerce markets in SEA, we believe Vietnam logistics is an attractive opportunity for us to enter in the region. Vietnam logistics market compliments very well with our existing regional logistics exposure, while also offering very strong risk-adjusted returns that will benefit our pension fund clients and their participants. With GLP’s extensive global track record, their ESG credentials and expertise in the logistics sector, we are pleased to be partnering with GLP in this venture for our first foray into Vietnam.”
According to Gerald Posthuma, chief investment officer of Asia General Accounts Investment and Kenny Lam, senior managing director, head of Asia Real Estate Investments for Manulife, “We are delighted to partner with GLP and SLP alongside other like-minded investors in this venture. Vietnam is one of Manulife’s key growth markets in Asia and we continue to believe in its strong economic fundamentals in the long run. This investment is one of our first few real estate investments in the market, and it bodes well with our long-term real estate strategy in the region.”
SLP (SEA Logistic Partners) is GLP’s Vietnam platform with a strong local team of more than 30 employees. SLP is committed to ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) initiatives and is focused on making sustainability a core component of its business by practicing responsible investing and development and promoting greater well-being in Vietnam.
