Deals

Standard Chartered invests in Chinese property developer

Standard Chartered Private Equity has invested HK$370 million in a Chinese real estate development company, its second investment in a mainland China property in less than two months.

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The private equity arm of Standard Chartered Bank has invested HK$370 million ($47.6m; €37.6m) in Greentown China Holdings, a property developer in China, according to a statement.

China’s urban population grew from 340 million in 1994 to 540 million in 2004, and disposable income per capita has increased significantly. We expect this to drive growth.

Karam Butalia, Standard Chartered Private Equity

Based in Hangzhou, Greentown operates in China’s Zhejiang province. It is also active in first- and second-tier cities across the country.

The deal follows a Standard Chartered Private Equity’s $50m co-investment in Shimao Property Holdings, an upmarket developer of hotels, residential and commercial properties in China, and marks Standard Chartered Private Equity’s second investment in China real estate. Morgan Stanley’s real estate investment fund arm was a co-investor in Shimao.

Karam Butalia, global head of the bank’s private equity business, said: “China’s urban population grew from 340 million in 1994 to 540 million in 2004, and disposable income per capita has increased significantly. [We expect this] to drive robust growth in the Chinese real estate market over the long run.”

Fan Chen, head of Greater China at SCPE, who led the investment in Greentown, said: “We will continue to focus on sectors that are highly co-related with the increase of personal income and improvement of living standards.”

Aside from real estate, Standard Chartered Private Equity has invested in Dongfeng Motors, a listed automobile maker in China, and Beifa Group, an exclusive supplier of office supplies for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.