(HOUSTON) – The National Pension Service of Korea (NPS) and Hines today announced the formation of a new build-to-core venture to capture evolving demands of modern spaces across real estate. The $1.5 billion USD equity joint venture will pursue urban infill developments across a broad span of sectors including mixed-use, residential, office and logistics in high-barrier-to-entry markets globally. Twenty percent of the venture is currently committed to projects in North America and Asia-Pacific.
The venture targets a build-to-core strategy to create a portfolio of prime assets resilient to market uncertainties. NPS and Hines believe that long-term investments in proven locations, supported by innovation and new technology, will capture sustained demand and create outsized value – which form the strategic investment focus of the partnership.
In addition to being a co-investor in the partnership with NPS, Hines will be responsible for sourcing, designing and executing development opportunities globally, which will leverage Hines’ relationship networks formed across the firm’s presence in 225 cities worldwide. NPS and Hines have previously partnered on investments across product types and strategies in Europe and North America, with landmark collaborations including Sony Center in Berlin, One Vanderbilt and One Madison in New York.
“We believe there are significant opportunities to invest in the highest-quality, bulletproof assets that will provide long-term value to NPS stakeholders,” commented Mr. Hyo-Joon Ahn, Chief Investment Officer of the National Pension Service of Korea. “The current economic climate, shaped by global responses to the pandemic, has impacted all sectors of commercial real estate. This venture has committed to a long-term strategy capitalizing on the transformation of living environments, consumer behavior and space-use patterns combined with latest technology in real estate development.”
Hines Chairman and CEO Jeffrey C. Hines said, “Like us, NPS values permanence, quality and innovation in core real estate. We see this new mandate as a natural extension of our longstanding relationship and a further opportunity to apply our real estate investments and execution skillsets to create differentiated multi-sector projects that enhance communities.”
“We are pleased with the elevated level of trust extended to us by our valued partners like NPS over the past few years as we’ve leaned toward executing a stronger investment strategy even more focused on our investors’ needs,” added Hines Global Chief Investment Officer David Steinbach. “Discretionary capital programs allow us to seize on the best opportunities, apply our skillsets, and focus on being the real estate partner of choice globally.”
About National Pension Service of Korea
National Pension Service of Korea (NPS) is one of the largest pension funds in the world with approximately $672 billion USD in assets as of September 30, 2020. NPS manages its funds investing in financial investment assets both of domestic and global, while diversifying the investment portfolio into equities, fixed income and alternative asset classes including real estate, private equity and infrastructure.
About Hines
Hines is a privately owned global real estate investment firm founded in 1957 with a presence in 225 cities in 25 countries. Hines has approximately $144.1 billion¹ of assets under management, including $75.5 billion for which Hines serves as investment manager, including non-real estate assets, and $68.6 billion for which Hines provides third-party property-level services. The firm has 165 developments currently underway around the world. Historically, Hines has developed, redeveloped or acquired 1,426 properties, totaling over 472 million square feet. The firm’s current property and asset management portfolio includes 576 properties, representing over 246 million square feet. With extensive experience in investments across the risk spectrum and all property types, and a pioneering commitment to sustainability, Hines is one of the largest and most-respected real estate organizations in the world. Visit www.hines.com for more information. ¹AUM includes both the global Hines organization as well as RIA AUM.