Thursday, January 24, 2008

Pacific Star, Israeli Firm Plan Viet Property Fund

Source : The Business Times, January 23, 2008

SINGAPORE-BASED Pacific Star Group said yesterday that it has signed a binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Alony Hetz to set up a fund to invest in Vietnamese real estate.

Both parties expect to raise US$200 million for the fund from institutional investors by July. Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange-listed Alony Hetz has meanwhile committed to investing US$50 million in the fund, its first real estate investment in South-east Asia.

Under the deal, Pacific Star and Alony Hetz will both manage the fund through a joint venture company to be established.

Commenting on the latest venture, Frank Rainer Vaessen, president of Pacific Star Fund Management, said: 'We are pleased to partner a firm with highly efficient management practices and an outstanding investment track record in Israel, Europe and North America.'

And Nathan Hetz, founder and chief executive of Alony Hetz, said: 'Pacific Star has extensive local experience in Asia and is thus an excellent partner for our entry into the region.'

Recently, Alony Hetz also invested US$40 million in a real estate fund in India, while Pacific Star has launched a 500 million euro (S$1.05 billion) Asian Real Estate Fund set up with HSH Real Estate AG, as well as a US$400 million Asian Real Estate Prime Development Fund which invests in prime development projects in Singapore, Malaysia, mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Japan and Korea.

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