KKR &Co have announced their intention to raise its very first Asia-based real estate fund. Business Times SG reported that the NY-based private equity firm is looking to raise US$1.5 billion to use in its various real estate interests in the region. It is also intent on collecting its initial first-close fund for the second quarter of 2019, according to reports.
KKR itself will shell out about $250 million in capital, while potential investors--which will also become known as 'limited partners'--will include 'sovereign and pension funds', according to reports. The fundraising is to answer the call of a global diversification, which the company aims to explore in the pursuit of moving away from traditional buying.
Tradition, in this sense, is buying out companies if only to sell them to the market to make a profit, or to turn them around from their bankruptcy or whatever forced them to sold out. KKR aims to make a diverse range of investments, from real estate, credit, hedge funds, to infrastructure.
It is also interesting to note that the Asian region is undergoing a period of sluggishness; CNBC TV noted that the biggest reason behind it is because of concerns on the growth of global markets. Japan's Nikkei average fell to 0.7 percent, while Chinese stocks posted mixed results, the best of which was Shanghai Composite's 0.2 percent rise. Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped down 1.0 and 0.7 percent, in comparison.
Market analysts like Tatsushi Maeno of Okasan Asset Management, meanwhile, have said that markets have the chance to bounce back, depending on one thing--the outcome of ongoing talks between the US and China, who are currently locked in an ugly trade dispute that's also adding to most of the concerns.
Investor sentiments echoes on looking out for the future. Analysts looked at concerns pointing to data that the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development released. According to the analysis, global forecasts for 2019 and 2020 were cut, pointing towards a possible continuation of the prevailing global economic cooldown.
It's no surprise that KKR had been actively seeking out alternatives to its traditional spending processes. The firm had actively been providing finance to Indian companies through KKR India Asset Finance Ltd, a real estate focused, non-bank financial firm. To date, KKR maintains a team of 20 real estate professionals in the Asia-Pacific region who are involved in equity and credit deals.
