GLP sets growth target for warehouse space in China

[HONG KONG] Global Logistic Properties, China's biggest modern warehouse operator, plans to increase space at new projects by 20 per cent to 25 per cent annually in the next two years as e-commerce grows and retail chains expand.

The company, part-owned by Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC, is beginning construction of 2.5 million square metres of warehouse space in China this year, compared with two million sq m a year earlier, chief executive officer and co-founder Ming Mei said in an interview in Hong Kong on Tuesday. The company has a portfolio of about eight million sq m in China, he said.

Logistics properties are "the most attractive real estate opportunity" in China as consumers buy more from e-commerce companies including Alibaba and Amazon, fuelling demand for storage space, according to a report released last month by Jones Lang LaSalle. Singapore-listed GLP, which operates in at least 37 Chinese cities, expects business to also be driven by the expansion of chain stores such as AS Watson Group, Mr Mei said.