Canadian pension fund arm Ivanhoe Cambridge doubling investment in China

Ivanhoe Cambridge, the real estate investment arm of Canada’s second-largest pension fund, is doubling its investment in mainland China and looking for opportunities in other Asian economies, including Hong Kong, Singapore, India and Japan.

The company, holding C$48 billion of assets as of the end of June, aims to build up its exposure in mainland China to between US$1.5 billion and US$2 billion in the next three to four years, mainly through two partnership deals it signed in June.

That is part of its strategy to double the weighting of growth markets, including Asia-Pacific and Latin America, in its global portfolio.

“China is a major pillar of our growth market strategy,” said Rita-Rose Gagne, executive vice-president of growth markets at the Montreal-based Ivanhoe, part of pension fund Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec.

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After two years in the making, Ivanhoe, together with Dutch pension fund APG Asset Management, entered a deal with Chongbang, which builds retail-anchored mixed-use real estate projects in Shanghai and neighbouring cities.

It also invested, together with CBRE Global Investment Partners, in LOGOS China Logistics Club, which currently has over US$1 billion of integrated logistics real estate assets and capital under management in China and Australia.