Asian fund managers firm up $150-M Clark investments

MANILA, Philippines - Two major Asian private equity firms are investing $150 million to construct five office towers in Clark Freeport Zone.

The project represents one of the largest investments by foreign investors in the country’s real estate sector and is expected to transform Clark Freeport Zone into a new office and logistics hub.

In a joint statement, ADM Capital and BPE Asia Real Estate, both Hong Kong-based companies, announced the closing of an initial $150-million investment to finance the construction of Grade A office buildings and surrounding infrastructure within the 177-hectare Global Gateway Logistics City (GGLC) in Clark.

ADM Capital and BPE Asia are leading a consortium of investors providing the cornerstone capital for the construction of office buildings with gross floor area of 142,000 square meters that are expected to meet the need of multinational companies and business process outsourcing (BPO) companies in Central Luzon.

The project, located across The Medical City Clark Hospital, will be the first office buildings constructed on the GGLC site, which when completed, will provide 5.8 million square meters of office, logistics, industrial and supporting retail and hotel space.

KGL Investment Co. (KGLI), a Kuwaiti company, is developing GGLC, a well-designed and master-planned office and logistics district strategically located next to Clark International Airport.

KGLI started the development of the 177-hectare GGLC, with the construction of state-of-the-art The Medical City Clark, which was also co-funded by ADM Capital and BPE Asia.

KGLI said construction of the first phase of office buildings is expected to start this month, with pre-leasing arrangement already underway. 

Large locators such as Texas Instruments, Convergys, Samsung and iQor have already established a presence in Clark while other multinational corporations and BPO companies are looking at expanding in the area.