Surbana Jurong Capital and Mitsubishi forms US$500m fund for urban developments

The JV will gear towards projects like rail-related developments and affordable housing.

Surbana Jurong Capital and Mitsubishi Corporation launched a joint venture (JV) fund management company (FMC) to invest $685m (US$500m) for urban development projects in emerging Asia, an announcement revealed.

Focusing on Myanmar, Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia, India, and Sri Lanka, the partners will inject $342.4m (US$250m) each for the 50:50 JV which will gear towards project that may include transit-oriented developments (TOD) such as aviation or rail-related developments, affordable housing, as well as other urban-related infrastructure.

“Emerging countries in Asia continue to see rapid economic and population growth, which drives the demand for urban infrastructure projects including transit-oriented developments and affordable housing,” Surbana Jurong group CEO Wong Heang Fine said.

The JV will target commercially-viable urban infrastructure projects which are in an advanced feasibility stage or in the early phases of construction. Qualifying projects will need to meet sustainable environmental, social and corporate governance metrics.

“Our JV will tap both partners’ know- how across financing and investing, as well as technical and risk analysis to deliver sustainable returns,” Wong noted.

Institutional investors seeking to participate in the sustainable growth of the region are welcome to pitch in the fund.

According to Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) estimates, developing Asia will need to invest at least $2.33t (US$1.7t) per year in infrastructure until 2030 to maintain its growth momentum.