Protego launches US$500m fund for Vietnamese homes

Protego Real Estate Investors LLP will set up a US$500 million fund to invest in Vietnamese residential properties by the end of next month, the US-based asset manager’s second venture in Asia, where returns may outpace Europe.

Equity investment of US$200 million is being sought and the fund will focus on luxury apartments in popular urban locations, estates in suburban and coastal locations and boutique-branded resorts and villas, London-based Protego said in a statement on its Web site. The Protego Qudos Vietnam Property Fund will start by acquiring five projects, mostly apartments in Ho Chi Minh City.

Protego, which manages about US$3 billion of mainly European assets, joins companies including CapitaLand Ltd, Southeast Asia’s biggest developer, in targeting Vietnam. The country’s economy expanded 8.5 percent last year, the fastest pace since 1996. CapitaLand, which has real estate in more than 20 countries, set up a US$300 million Vietnam property fund in February as growth slows in its home market of Singapore.

Protego is aiming for an internal net rate of return of 25 percent and plans to raise the equity for investment by the end of next month for the US-dollar denominated, eight-year, closed private fund, the statement said.