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Portman eyes property investments in Greater China

The US real estate investor and developer has opened a Hong Kong office headed by ex-Henderson Global executive Stanley Chin, who will lead the charge in sourcing deals and raising capital.
Portman eyes property investments in Greater China

Portman Holdings, the US-based property investor and developer, is targeting opportunities in the Greater China real estate market with the launch of a Hong Kong office.    

The firm’s Greater China operations are being led by Stanley Chin, who joined Portman this month as managing director, after four years at Henderson Global Investors in Hong Kong. There he was director of Asia-Pacific real estate portfolio management, in charge of raising capital, developing new funds and managing property funds.

Chin now oversees Portman’s Greater China business, sourcing property development opportunities and raising investment capital. The new office complements the firm’s operations in Shanghai, established in 1993.

Its new presence in Hong Kong “is a strategic choice due to its international profile as a financial centre and its status as a hub for many capital sources and relationships”, says Portman chief executive Ambrish Baisiwala.

Portman’s investor base includes pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, alternatives vehicles, major banks, family offices and high-net-worth individuals. The firm says it has raised and invested more than $6 billion in global real estate since its founding in 1953.

The move into Hong Kong marks a comeback of sorts for Portman, which had been an active foreign player in Asia’s property development market until the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s. It then turned its attention to Eastern European markets, such as Poland.

Since entering the Asian real estate market in the 1970s, Portman has opened offices in Shanghai, Seoul and Mumbai.

The firm’s portfolio of Asian properties under construction – in which it is both the investor and developer – include a redevelopment project of a historic building in Shanghai's French Concession and the development of skyscraper 151 Incheon Tower in Incheon, South Korea.

¬ Haymarket Media Limited. All rights reserved.
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