CapitaLand Investment’s (CLI) revealed during its recent investor day on Nov 22 that it has plans to expand its operations in Australia. The company has recently appointed two new senior hires to lead its growth in the country. Angelo Scasserra will be taking on the role of CEO for CLI Australia, while Rahul Bharara will serve as the chief investment officer. Both will join the company in the first half of 2025.
In addition, CLI also announced its intention to invest up to A$1 billion ($876.7 million) into growing its funds under management (FUM) in Australia. This follows the successful closing of its maiden credit fund, the Australian Credit Programme (ACP), which had raised A$265 million from Asian investors.
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During the investor day, Lee Chee Koon, group CEO of CLI, mentioned the company’s plans for its private credit division, stating that there is a strong pipeline for deals in both Australia and the wider Asia-Pacific region. This was supported by news from the Australian Financial Review on Nov 25, reporting that CLI was in talks to acquire Wingate, a local boutique investment firm.
CLI’s previous foray into the Australian market was in 2014, when it divested its stake in Australand Property Group to Frasers Property (then known as Frasers Centrepoint). When asked about this decision during the Q&A session, Miguel Ko, chairman of CLI, refrained from commenting on his predecessors’ choices, stating that the company did not have the benefit of hindsight and could not predict China’s current situation at the time.
The divestment of Australand was made when China was experiencing a booming economy, in which CapitaLand had a competitive advantage. However, Lim Ming Yan, then-president and group CEO of CapitaLand, mentioned that the market conditions at the time were favorable and the share price of Australand had been performing well. The company saw the divestment as an opportunity to reallocate its capital to its core businesses in Singapore and China.
After partially divesting its stake in November 2013, CapitaLand had sold off the remaining 39.1% stake in March 2014, citing the need to improve trading liquidity. With this recent announcement, CLI hopes to further strengthen its position as a leading real estate investment firm in the region, with FUM of $113 billion.