South Korea’s leading real estate asset manager IGIS Asset Management Co. has acquired CJ Korea Express Co.’s logistics center in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province for about 410 billion won ($364 million) jointly with the nation’s major institutional investors, the largest investment by local investors in domestic logistics facilities.

According to sources from the investment banking industry on Tuesday, IGIS Asset Management and the nation’s institutional players including National Pension Service (NPS) signed a contract to buy a logistics center scheduled to be completed by next year near Yangji Interchange in Yongin city. The facility will be leased out to the country’s leading logistics company CJ Korea Express for 15 years after its completion, and is expected to generate annual return of 7 percent to 8 percent.

Of the total price of 410 billion won, 200 billion won was financed by blind real estate fund that IGIS Asset Management and the institutional investors had formed last year and additional fund by the institutional investors, and the remaining was raised by loans from financial institutions.

The six-story Yangji logistics center currently under construction boasts a massive floor area of 348,800 square meters, the largest logistics facility in Korea. It has a great accessibility to the country’s capital and surrounding metropolitan areas as it is located near Yeongdong Expressway linking Incheon and Gangwon. The 15-year master lease to CJ Korea Express is expected to deliver stable returns, according to industry sources.

So far, foreign investors have made big bets on Korean logistics centers and the IGIS Asset Management’s investment is the largest one made by local investors for domestic logistics centers.

By Kang Doo-soon and Song Gwang-sup

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