APG, SC Capital and Scape to Explore Asia Lodging Investment at Singapore Forum

Investment in hotels and rental residential have been among the brightest sectors in Asia Pacific’s real estate investment universe this year with trades of multi-family assets having risen 1 percent in the first nine months of 2023, according to MSCI, at the same time that major markets like Japan saw a surge in hotel deals.

To explore what’s driving interest in rental apartments, student accommodation and hospitality assets, top executives from the Netherlands’ APG Asset Management, Varsity Group Asia Pacific – which spun off from Australia’s Scape earlier this year  – and Singapore’s SC Capital will be joining a panel at the Mingtiandi Singapore Forum on 14 November to reveal top trends in the sector.

On the panel will be Suchad Chiaranussati, founder and chairman of SC Capital Partners; Rushabh Desai, CEO of Varsity Group Asia Pacific and Sarah Winbur, a senior portfolio manager with APG Asset Management; with Mingtiandi founder Michael Cole moderating the session.

The lodging investment session is part of a full day program of panels and interviews covering topics from Singapore’s commercial real estate market, to the city-state’s growing role as a financial hub and more, with over 200 senior executives expected to attend.

Tickets to the event can still be purchased at the link above, and the first two sessions in the program, which is sponsored by Yardi, will be streamed live on Mingtiandi’s MTD TV video platform.

Asia’s Biggest Investors

During July of this year SC Capital Partners teamed up with Goldman Sachs Asset Management and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority to acquire a portfolio of 27 resort hotels in Japan from property giant Daiwa House Industry for $900 million in a deal which ranks as Japan’s largest hospitality transaction of 2023.

With that transaction adding more than 7,000 keys to SC Capital’s portfolio of hotels around the region, Chiaranussati will be sharing where he sees opportunities for value in hospitality assets both in Japan and in the broader region.

APG Asset Management has been among the most active backers of rental residential strategies in Asia Pacific with investments in Greystar’s multi-family ventures in the region, as well as backing Scape’s Australian student housing platform and its establishment of Varsity Group Asia Pacific this year together with Desai.

Winbur joined APG in Hong Kong in 2018 and relocated to Singapore in January this year to help build out the company’s presence in the city-state.

Before teaming up with Scape to establish Varsity Group Asia Pacific in February, Desai had led Allianz Real Estate (now PIMCO Prime Real Estate) in Asia Pacific from 2018 through last year, during which time he led major investments in rental accommodation in Japan among deals across the region.

Singapore-based Varsity focuses on investment in rental accommodation, including purpose-built student accommodation; education; healthcare; and technology-driven space encompassing both data centres and offices and looks at deals across Asia Pacific.

Who’s Joining

With just a few days to go before the Mingtiandi Singapore Forum, more than 200 industry leaders have already reserved spots, with less than 20 spaces remaining available.

Some 30 speakers from companies including BlackRock, Warburg Pincus and Ivanhoe Cambridge are on the agenda, with more details available on the event registration page.

Among the companies with representatives attending are the following organisations.