ING Asia fund buys Japanese mall

ING Real Estate’s Asia Retail Fund bought the Northport Mall in Yokohama City, Japan.

Completed in April this year, the nine level, newly-built Yokohama shopping centre has a gross lettable area of 56,321 sqm.

Northport Mall is fully-let and houses a well-mixed tenant base which includes a grocery store, a home centre, fashion and clothing stores, an appliance shop, as well as a cinema complex. Six anchor tenants are located at the end of each level linked by speciality stores.

ING Real Estate Investment Management Asia’s chief executive Robert Lie said this is the fund’s second Japanese investment.

“Japan plays an important role in our Asia growth strategy. We have established a strong team in Tokyo and plan to expand further our Japanese platform to facilitate growth in the Japanese market,” he added.

Northport Mall is the fund’s fourth acquisition. The fund has also invested in Kuala Lumpur‘s Suria KLCC, The Mall in Seoul and Morioka Minami Shopping Centre SANSA in Iwate prefecture.

ING Real Estate Asia Retail Fund’s portfolio manager Jimmy Phua said this is a rare opportunity to acquire a fully occupied, newly-completed large-size core shopping centre in Japan which helps diversify the fund.

The fund is expected to be fully invested by the end of this year.

Australian Property Journal