[HONG KONG] Blackstone Group LP, the world's biggest manager of alternative assets including private equity and real estate, agreed to buy a 40 per cent stake in Chinese shopping mall developer and operator SCP Co.

ICBC International Holdings, a Hong Kong unit of China's largest bank, also agreed to buy a 6 per cent stake in Shenzhen-based SCP, taking its total asset values to more than US$2 billion, according to a joint e-mailed statement yesterday. New York-based Blackstone did not disclose the dollar amount of its investment in the statement.

Chief executive officer Stephen Schwarzman is stepping up real estate investment in Asia, tapping the market for US$4 billion for the company's maiden property fund focused on the region. Blackstone, which has been among the biggest buyers of property in Australia and India, is further seeking to boost such investment in China as rising income and urbanization drives demand.