ARA sets up third private Reit in South Korea

REAL estate fund manager ARA Asset Management on Monday said that its subsidiary, ARA Korea, a licensed real estate investment trust (Reit) manager in South Korea, has successfully launched a new privately-held Reit.

Named ARA ShinYoung Residential Development Real Estate Investment Company, with a mandate to invest in homes in South Korea, it has this month completed its first investment in a residential development project in Seoul - with a total development cost of about 43 billion won (S$52.7 million).

The new Reit was launched by ARA in partnership with ShinYoung Co, a prominent residential property developer and operator in South Korea, it said.

ARA Korea is mandated as the sole asset manager of the Reit and this is the third privately-held Korean Reit wholly managed by ARA.

According to its website, ARA manages two privately-held South Korean Reits, namely ARA-NPS Real Estate Investment Company, and ARA-NPS Reit No 2, both of which are invested in office properties.

As at end-June 2015, ARA's assets under management stood at about S$26.9 billion. ARA shares rose one Singapore cent to S$1.415 on Monday.