CapitaLand Investment, SC Capital launch industrial development fund focused on Gulf Cooperation Council markets
Its first project is to develop a 300,000 sq m industrial park in the UAE
[SINGAPORE] CapitaLand Investment (CLI) and SC Capital Partners have launched an industrial development fund focused on the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, comprising Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait.
CLI, which owns a 40 per cent stake in SC Capital Partners, will co-sponsor the GCC Real Estate Industrial Development Fund, the companies said in a joint statement on Tuesday (Sep 30).
The real asset manager and the Singapore-based real estate investment management firm will join THi Holding Management Corporation to form a consortium that combines institutional investment expertise and development capabilities to drive industrial transformation across the GCC markets.
Andrew Lim, CLI’s group chief operating officer, noted that the GCC region is “an increasingly important logistics node in the global supply chain”.
“With the combined strengths of CLI, SC Capital Partners and THi across fund management, asset development, asset management and tenant networks, we are well-positioned to connect capital partners with high-quality investment opportunities across geographies,” he said.
The fund’s first project is an industrial development that will be built in the Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone (Rakez), a business hub in the UAE, with the consortium having signed an investment framework agreement with Rakez on Apr 28.
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CLI and SC Capital Partners said that under this project, the consortium will develop more than 300,000 square metres (sq m) of land in Ras Al Khaimah into a next-generation industrial park that will draw high-tech and smart-manufacturing enterprises from across Asia. This is expected to support Ras Al Khaimah’s transformation, create 1,800 jobs and draw more than 50 tenants, they added.
Suchad Chiaranussati, chairman and founder of SC Capital Partners, said that the UAE “presents compelling opportunities for long-term value creation, underpinned by a visionary national agenda and rapidly evolving industrial ecosystems”.
CLI and SC Capital Partners said that with the UAE as its launchpad, the fund has built a “strong pipeline of development opportunities” across cities in the emirates such as Abu Dhabi and Dubai. They added: “These key industrial and economic zones will serve as anchor markets for the fund’s long-term growth strategy, aligning with the UAE’s national ambitions for economic diversification, advanced manufacturing and global connectivity.”
The fund will also have projects across Saudi Arabia, where it will anchor its initial strategy in areas such as the Eastern Province, Greater Riyadh and Jeddah.
As Saudi Arabia offers opportunities for long-term value creation, underpinned by its economic transformation plan Vision 2030, Chiaranussati said that the fund aims to deliver strong value to investors while supporting the kingdom’s industrial diversification.
Moreover, national initiatives and large-scale projects under Vision 30 are reshaping the kingdom’s industrial and logistics sectors, he noted. This fuels demand for modern logistics facilities, advanced manufacturing hubs and sustainable industrial parks that serve both domestic and global supply chain needs, he added.
Beyond the UAE and Saudi Arabia, the fund will also expand into other GCC markets to build a diversified portfolio of high-quality, income-generating industrial assets across the region, CLI and SC Capital Partners said.
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