Hong Kong-based real estate investor and fund manager Unified Industrial (UI) has partnered with Boustead Project Limited (BPL), a unit of Boustead Singapore Limited, to launch a pan-Asian logistics real estate platform, UIB.
UIB will expand investment, development, and fund management in high-growth sectors, integrating UI’s presence in North Asia and BPL’s Southeast Asian business, according to an announcement.
The platform will manage $3.5 billion in assets across Japan, China, Singapore, and Vietnam, enhancing its ability to serve institutional investors, tenants, and strategic partners.
Per the announcement, UIB will focus on logistics and data centres, driven by demand from e-commerce, digitization, and regional supply chain shifts.
Founded in 2008, UI has built a strong presence and track record in Japan, followed by expansion into China in 2016. Boustead, on the other hand, provides eco-sustainable real estate solutions with a regional presence across Singapore, China, Malaysia, and Vietnam.
“Today’s announcement reflects a shared ambition to create a leading logistics and industrial real estate franchise in Asia, leveraging the established brands of UI and BPL in their respective markets,” said Josh Olsan, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of UI.
The formation of UIB follows UI’s 2021 investment from Macquarie Asset Management’s real estate opportunistic fund series, Macquarie Real Estate Partners (MREP).
Macquarie Asset Management’s Asia Pacific Head of Real Estate and UIB Chairman, James Kemp, said the transaction aligns with its strategy of institutionalising and expanding real estate capabilities in high-growth sectors.
In a separate disclosure to the Singapore Exchange, Boustead said it has agreed to transfer its fund and property management businesses to Unified Industrial.
Under the agreement, Boustead Singapore’s subsidiary will take a 24.1% stake in Unified Industrial for a total subscription value of $78.6 million.
Boustead said the proposed transaction will allow BSL Group to scale its industrial real estate and fund management business while reducing the need for substantial co-investment in future projects in Singapore and Vietnam.
The company said in the disclosure that the deal would enable it to reallocate capital to potentially higher-return investments and geographically diversify BSL Group’s business into Japan and China, with potential expansion into other growth markets.
