Company’s Real Estate arm is raising money for its fifth Asia-focused real estate fund

A new BlackRock Asia fund is making noise this week. According to sources, the company’s real estate arm has commitments in the range of $300 million and $350 million for this fifth fund.

The previous fund in the series, the value-add Asia Property Fund IV, raised $500 million when it closed in November 2017.

BlackRock Asia Fund Focus

Asia figures majorly in the asset manager’s global investment plans. High growth markets in Asia, especially China, were “one of the most critical priorities for BlackRock today and into the future,” Chairman and CEO Larry Fink wrote in a 2018 letter to shareholders.

As at the end of 2018, the firm’s assets under management in Asia, across all funds, were $471 billion.

In contrast, the company’s total realty assets across the globe currently are about $21 billion.

The firm needs to catch up on realty

An industry participant commented that BlackRock’s real estate portfolio was not commensurate with its size. The person said it should be aiming for much larger funds.

Meanwhile, KKR, a major corporate rival, is launching its first Asia-focussed RE fund with a target of $1.5 billion.

Finally, in a fund-raising record, Blackstone raised $7.1 billion last June in its second Asia opportunistic real estate fund.