U.S. property firm sets up Asian wing

U.S. property firm sets up Asian wing

SINGAPORE (AFP): U.S.-based property consultants Jones Lang
LaSalle Inc's investment management arm will set up an Asian wing
here to act as a conduit for investments into and out of the
region.

Christopher Brown, executive chairman of Jones Lang in Asia
Pacific, said Thursday the Asian unit would be launched early
2000 for Asia-Pacific investors eager to expand their investments
and for European and American investors seeking opportunities in
the region.

LaSalle Investment Management Asia hopes to raise up to US$600
million by the first year of operations for investments in the
real estate and property securities markets.

The decision to set up the Asian operations here was
influenced by the regional economic recovery, said Yu Lai Boon,
Jones Lang's associate director of research and consultancy.

There was potential for growth in the region as there had been
an outflow of funds from Asia-Pacific to Europe and North America
during the financial crisis which hit the region in mid-1997, he
said.

With the recovery, investor confidence was returning, he said.

"The problems for the last two years, I don't think it has
changed the fact that Asia will be the growth sector for the next
20, 30 years, so investors want to be part of that," Brown said.

LaSalle Investment Management Asia will be raising capital
from investment companies, state pension funds and insurance
firms among others.

Brown told AFP that although property markets in Asia were
recovering, property prices had not returned to pre-crisis
levels.

But, this was "a very good time" to start entering the
regional property market "before they get to the top of the
value," he said.

Brown described as stable the property markets in Singapore
and Japan and reasonably stable the market in Hong Kong.

The Thai market was undergoing "some extent" of recovery while
the recent government change in Indonesia brightened hopes of a
turnaround in the Jakarta market, he added.

"A long period of stability is good because then it gives you
time to search around for the opportunities to really do due
diligence and assess the viability of various dues that come on
the market," Yu said.

Jones Lang is a leading real estate services and investment
management firm with 1998 revenues of $848 million.

La Salle Investment Management has more than $20.9 billion in
property worldwide.