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Press release

Actis completes acquisition of Standard Chartered’s Principal Finance Real Estate business in Asia

20 August 2018
Email Actis
  • Acquisition includes seven assets in China, India and South Korea and a 20-strong team
  • Brian Chinappi will continue to lead the business as partner and head of Asia
  • Actis will be adding two new offices to its network in Shanghai and Seoul.

Actis, a leading global growth markets investor, today announced that it has completed the acquisition of Standard Chartered Bank’s (“SCB”) Principal Finance Real Estate (“PFRE”) business in Asia.

The portfolio is seeded with seven investments in China, India, and South Korea. The business will continue to invest with, and provide strategic value to, high-quality operating partners, across diverse property types in Greater China, South Korea, Southeast Asia, and India.

The PFRE team consists of 20 experienced real estate professionals led by Brian Chinappi (Asia Head), Thomas Liu (Head of Greater China & North Asia), and Ashish Singh (Head of India) who will join the Actis partnership. The team was formed in mid-2010 and has decades of experience with a diverse background in the fields of real estate private equity investment, operations, developments and asset management.

Through the acquisition, Actis will be adding two new offices in Shanghai and Seoul to its network. The firm has a successful footprint in Asia through its Energy and Private Equity strategies, having deployed c.US$3 billion in the region since the firm was founded in 2004.

Actis’ Real Estate team, which is currently investing its third fund, has historically focused on Africa and has significant investment experience in real estate development projects similar to those that PFRE has been pursuing in Asia.

David Morley, partner and head of Real Estate at Actis, said: “This is an exciting moment in the history of the firm. We have sought out a world class team and a portfolio that fits seamlessly into our culture and complements our own approach and experience of successfully operating in the most dynamic growth markets in the world.”

Andrew Newington, CIO at Actis, said: “This acquisition is a natural fit for Actis. Large cities have been at the heart of Asia’s rapid economic growth and development over the past two decades. Asia’s investable universe for real estate is forecast to become the world’s largest, rising from 28% at the end of 2016 to 35% of the global total by 2026. The scale of this opportunity, combined with Asia’s strong demographic and economic fundamentals, has created an attractive environment for real estate investment in the region.”

Brian Chinappi, partner and head of Actis real estate in Asia, said: “Actis’ reputation as a leading investor in growth markets is unrivalled and we believe that our team, strategy, portfolio and pipeline are very complementary to their activities and investment objectives. We are also energised by our shared view that Asia is a significant market for future growth and look forward to working together to realise the prospects the region presents for the business.”

Hodes Weill Securities, LLC, a global real estate advisory firm, acted as global financial advisor to Standard Chartered, and as capital arranger for the transaction.

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