On Dec 12, Hongkong Land announced the formation of the Singapore Central Private Real Estate Fund (SCPREF) with $8.2 billion of assets under management at inception.
Hongkong Land will be the general partner and manager of the Fund, and hold a majority stake in SCPREF at inception, as a founding investor along with Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and APG Asset Management (APG). Other investors in SCPREF include an established Southeast Asia sovereign wealth fund.
During a media briefing, Hongkong Land’s group CEO, Michael Smith points out that his capital partners in SCPREF “are very focused on having a uniquely Singapore exposure. This vehicle is just Singapore, so we have no intention of expanding this vehicle, and our partners in the fund have no intention to expand.”
The initial portfolio comprises a one-third stake in Marina Bay Financial Tower (MBFC) 1 and 2, and One Raffles Quay (ORQ), 100% of One Raffles Link and 100% of Asia Square Tower 1.
"The investment is anchored by Asia Square Tower 1, which QIA has owned and actively invested in since 2016, and reflects QIA’s long-standing conviction in Singapore as a leading global gateway city, underpinned by strong occupier demand, transparent regulation and long-term economic resilience, says QIA via a press release.
This initial portfolio collectively represents 2.6 million square feet of effective net lettable area (NLA), and had a gross asset value (GAV) of $8.2 billion as at December 2025, making SCPREF the largest private real estate fund focused on Singapore. It is also among the largest Asia-focused funds by AUM, according to Hongkong Land.
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According to Smithh, MBFC Tower 3 was meant to be included in this fund, and it would have been injected at the same price that was it was acquired by Keppel REIT for. As Smith tells it, the listed office REITs in Singapore are trading at 0.7-0.8x P/B and a private fund enables Hongkong Land to divest assets at their full value. Hongkong Land has recycled a total of US$1.3 billion from the fund formation of which US$0.7 billion was from MBFC Tower 3 disposal. Together with the earlier disposals, Hongkong Land has recycled US$3.4 billion, 85% of its 2027 target of US$4 billion) and 34% of its 2035 target of US$10 billlion.
"Given the circumstances of our historic joint venture, we had to make these assets available to our partners, and in the case of Keppel REIT deciding to acquire Tower 3, the price that they paid would have been the same price that we injected into the fund. We do have validation by APG, for instance, and this unnamed sovereign wealth fund validating that independent valuation by injecting cash into the vehicle,” says Smith.
Post-launch, SCPREF has an investment mandate to acquire additional high-quality, income-producing commercial assets in Singapore’s Central Business District and Orchard Road District. The assets are likely to be integrated developments with office and retail.
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SCPREF is an open ended fund, that is, it doesn’t have a fixed life like so many other private equity funds where assets have to be sold at the end of the fund's life.
“Because of its open ended nature, when we have other investors who are keen on joining us, we can basically put them in a queue," says Smith.
"And when we make future acquisitions, they will make their capital available to us at that point. We have good capital partners with very low cost of capital, and a few different opportunities that we can explore,” Smith elaborates.
According to him, of the $8.2 billion in AUM, 50% is gearing, leaving $4.1 billion of equity, of which Hong Kong Land has just over 50% and the rest is between its capital partners.
“This is a core, open ended vehicle, so it has return targets of 8% over time. That's total return, not yield. It’s yield plus growth; 8% is a sort of IRR type equivalent by investing in this fund, and it would have the typical liquidity features.
"However, we do have, in terms of our initial founding investor bench and the investors that are at the table with us today, they're all committed to growing and supporting the fund so there will be a lock up, which will enable the vehicle to go all the way to $15 billion,” Smith adds. “The reason we mentioned that number is that we have the support of our partners to continue to grow to that size and beyond. We are in a pretty unique position right now where there seems to be assets which haven't been on the market for many years suddenly coming onto the market.”
When asked about the identity of the Southeast Asian SWF, Smith cites confidentiality agreements. Market observers have wondered whether the SWF could be Khazanah or Temasek, or both, as they own Marina One, which could be the pipeline asset for SCPREF.
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Hongkong Land has also announced that its share buyback programme will be increased by an additional US$300 million, bringing the total amount allocated to the programme to US$650 million (since 2024), reflecting approximately 20% of the US$3.4 billion capital recycled to date.
This extended buyback programme will continue through to June 30 2027 and will be activated after the company’s 2025 annual results which are scheduled to be released on March 5. The company intends to cancel any shares which are repurchased, reducing the number of outstanding shares issued..
HongKong Land shares closed at US$8.67 on Feb 3, up 4.71% for the day, having doubled in the past year.
