Almaty, 23 October. Four private equity funds, including one of the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB), have announced plans to invest a combined total of about $1.65bn in warehouse and logistics property in Central Asia, consultancy IBC Global reported after a session of the Central Asia Warehouse Summit held in Almaty on 15 October.
Two European funds have a combined $400m and are already selecting completed properties and projects, while Central Eurasia Warehouses Private Equity Fund is raising $250m. "The funds offer developers several ways to raise capital, from financing construction to buying a property when it is commissioned or at the stabilisation stage," said Stanislav Akhmedzyanov, a partner at the fund. The EDB plans to direct up to $1bn into warehouses in the region by 2031 and create more than 1m square metres of space, said Mikhail Fadeev, head of the bank's strategic projects department.
Investors are interested mainly in class A warehouses of mostly 20,000–25,000 square metres or more, existing buildings with rental income and infrastructure along international transport corridors. The EDB is already involved in Griffin Partners and Mercury Properties projects in Kazakhstan: in August it signed a loan agreement for the first phase of Griffin Logopark Almaty, about 125,500 square metres costing around $125m.
What it means: Specialised warehouse investors are coming to Central Asia, ready to finance construction or buy completed properties; most of the announced sum is the EDB programme.
Who benefits: Warehouse developers, held back, according to IBC Global, by expensive bank loans, and the region's transit logistics. The funds get income from rent and property sales.
Background: According to LogiStan, building a class A warehouse in Kazakhstan has become 60% more expensive over five years.
List of sources used: LogiStan
Artificial intelligence was used in preparing this material.
