Individuals in Korea will be able to invest in a fund devoted to overseas real estate assets later in the year.

Vestas Investment Management Co. a third in the real estate fund category with 7 trillion won ($5.9 billion) worth under management, has been packaging a fund investing in overseas property assets delivering solid returns after filing for approval for the novel product with local financial authority.

The fund is designed to invest in office buildings and logistics centers in the United States and Europe, with targeted return rate of 7-8 percent per year.

Vestas Investment Management is an established name among institutional investors.

It has successfully resold major office buildings in Korea with handsome profit – The-K Twin Tower (500 billion won), Metro Tower (200 billion won) and YG Tower (180 billion won) in Seoul, as well as Hanjin Heavy Industries’ office building (150 billion won) in Busan.

The company started investment in overseas properties in 2016. The latest decision to launch the public real estate fund follows a slew of Vestas Investment Management’s investments in major properties in recent years. It acquired many office buildings and logistics centers worth a combined 1.5 trillion won in 2019 and recently decided to buy Danish transport and logistics company GSV’s office building and logistics center for 250 billion won last month.

In the U.S., it has invested 460 billion won in 50-story skyscraper Safeco Plaza in downtown Seattle.

Vestas Investment Management’s clients include Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) & Co., Alpha Investment Management and Angelo Gordon. Its credentials will be appealing to local investors hungry for opportunities for new investments, an industry official said.

Since last year, the demand for real estate funds and real estate investment trusts (REITs) has surged after the government has introduced measures to bolster the related market to rein in the speculative housing bubble in the country. A number of REITs that went public last year also attracted massive interest from investors amid a lack of attractive investment vehicles in a low interest rate environment.

By Han Woo-ram and Lee Ha-yeon

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