HK-based PE firm eyes S'pore high-end homes, prime offices

Singapore

HONG Kong-based private equity real estate firm Phoenix Property Investors is on the prowl for more investments in South-east Asia.

Currently it has invested about US$120 million - or 5 per cent of the US$2.5 billion it has raised since it was set up in 2002 - in Jakarta, Manila and Singapore.

The goal is to grow the region's share to 15-20 per cent over time, if there are opportunities, said Samuel Chu, co-founder, managing partner and chief investment officer at Phoenix Property Investors, in an interview.

The group's total assets managed and under management stands at over US$6.7 billion - in the luxury residential, retail and office sectors.

So far, all that Phoenix has bought in Singapore are three pairs of conservation shophouses at 48-56 Peck Seah Street for S$42.8 million in 2014. It has spent a further S$2 million sprucing up the asset, which is 82 per cent let. The property, with a total lettable area of about 20,000 sq ft, i…