Top Real Estate Investment Platforms in Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia's real estate market has an impressive mix of high-quality real estate investment firms, at least compared to other emerging markets. It should come as no surprise that most are based in Singapore, and focused primarily on advanced logistics investments given the export-led nature of the region's economies.

The top three property investors identified include CapitaLand Investments, GLP, and ESR. Honorable mentions are also touched on and are Mapletree (Temasek), Blackstone, Nuveen Real Estate, Brookfield Asset Management, PGIM Real Estate, UBS Asset Management, Keppel, and global asset managers like KKR and PAG with growing Southeast Asia portfolios. Taken together these are considered the best real estate investment firms in Southeast Asia.

The ranking is based on Asia-Pacific real-estate AUM and tangible activity in Southeast Asia as of 2023–2024. Figures are drawn from firm disclosures and various surveys and reports, including ANREV.

Note: Real-estate AUM figures vary by firm definitions, reporting periods, and accounting standards. Exact comparisons are not always possible, but the rankings below reflect the best available data and provide a practical starting point for companies assessing the Southeast Asia market.

CapitaLand Investment

CapitaLand is a Singaporean giant real estate developer and investor with approximately $65.5 billion of real estate AUM in Asia Pacific ($136 billion globally). The firm was listed in Singapore in 2002 as Singapore's first REIT, the CapitaLand Mall Trust. In 2010 CapitaLand sponsored Malaysia's first pure-play retail REIT, the CapitaLand Malaysia Mall Trust. Through its subsidiary, The Ascott Limited, CapitaLand is the largest serviced-residence owner-operator globally

Before 2019, CapitaLand’s portfolio was mainly retail and office properties. In 2019, it acquired Ascendas-Singbridge for $8.5 billion, adding about 100 logistics, business-park, and data-center properties in Asia. The acquisition increased total holdings to around 1,000 properties across 240 cities in over 30 countries, and stands as one of Asia's largest real estate M&A deals to date.

In Southeast Asia, CapitaLand is an active investor in Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines. It has made significant real estate investments in Singapore, Vietnam, and Malaysia and has entered Thailand with its first real estate investment.

Fund Statistics

• AUM: ~$100 billion

• Sectors: Retail, lodging, logistics/industrial, business parks, wellness, data centers

• SEA presence: Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines

• Representative vehicles:

  • CapitaLand Asia Retail Redeployment Fund -- $592 million

  • CapitaLand Vietnam Hospitality Fund I -- $147 million

  • CapitaLand Vietnam Hospitality Fund II -- $296 million

  • CapitaLand SEA Logistics Fund (with Pruksa Holding) -- $592 million

  • CapitaLand Wellness Fund -- $740 million

  • Ascott Residence Asia Fund II -- $370 million

GLP

GLP was formed in 2009 after Singapore’s GIC bought Prologis’s China ops and interests in its Japan funds. The platform was then rebranded Global Logistic Properties by co-founders Ming Z. Mei and Jeffrey H. Schwartz (both ex-Prologis). In 2010, it was listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange as Singapore's largest IPO since 1993.

Since its 2010 listing, GLP has expanded from Japan and China logistics into global logistics, data centers, and renewable energy. In 2012, it entered Brazil via a $1.45 billion portfolio deal, and in 2017 acquired Gazeley in Europe which was privatized in a $11.6 billion buyout. In 2019, Blackstone bought GLP's U.S. warehouses for $18.7 billion, the largest private equity real estate deal globally at that time. GLP's data center platform, Ada Infrastructure, has 850MW of development across Japan, the UK, and Brazil, and claims nearly 1.5GW in the pipeline.

In Southeast Asia, GLP is focused primarily on industrial developments in the major cities in Vietnam. It does this through a joint venture with SEA Logistics Partners (SLP). The GLP Vietnam Development Partners I Fund ($1.1 billion, 2021 vintage) is among the largest logistics development platforms in the region.

Public statements indicate an interest in making future investments in Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia. As of Dec 2023, its fund arm, GLP Capital Partners, manages 60+ funds with an AUM of approximately $128 billion through it's regional headquarters in Singapore.

Fund Statistics

• AUM: ~$128 billion across 61 funds

• Sectors: Logistics/industrial, data centers, renewable energy

• SEA presence: Vietnam, with planned entry into Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia

• Representative vehicle:

  • GLP Vietnam Development Partners I -- $1.1 billion

ESR

Founded in Hong Kong in 2011 as e-Shang (backed by Warburg Pincus), ESR quickly expanded through acquisitions and partnerships, most notably the integrations of ARA and LOGOS. As of December 2023, its global AUM stood at $156 billion, with Southeast Asia and India contributing about 22% of its fee income. ESR is Asia-Pacific’s largest real-asset manager by AUM, with a platform covering logistics, business parks, data centers, and selected retail/office assets.

Its Southeast Asia expansion began in Vietnam in 2017, followed by Thailand and Singapore. Today, an estimated 70% of its regional portfolio is logistics or industrial, with the balance spread across other property types.

Fund Statistics

• AUM: ~$156.1 billion total

• Sectors: Logistics/industrial, business parks, data centers, retail, office

• SEA presence: Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore

• Representative vehicles:

  • ESR Vietnam Logistics Fund I -- $260 million

  • ESR Vietnam Logistics Fund II -- $400 million

  • ARA LOGOS Fund I -- $568 million

  • ESR-LOGOS Vietnam Fund I -- $800 million

  • ESR-LOGOS SE Asia Fund -- $800 million (close expected 2025)

Honorable Mentions

Mapletree Investments (Temasek)

Singapore-based, ~$59 billion AUM, diversified across logistics, office, industrial, retail, student housing, and data centers.

Blackstone

U.S. private-equity giant, ~$40–45 billion APAC real-estate AUM, active in logistics, office, and residential sectors.

Nuveen Real Estate

U.S. manager with ~$35 billion APAC real-estate AUM, focused on core and core-plus strategies.

Brookfield Asset Management

Canadian alternative-asset leader with ~$33 billion APAC real-estate AUM, diversified across office, industrial, and retail.

PGIM Real Estate

U.S. firm with ~$33 billion APAC real-estate AUM in core/core-plus assets across multiple property types.

UBS Asset Management

Swiss manager with ~$32 billion APAC real-estate AUM comprised of office, residential, and industrial.

Keppel (Keppel Capital / Keppel Ltd.)

Singapore-based, growing digital-infrastructure and real-estate fund platforms, including data-center development.

KKR (Asia Real Estate)

Global PE firm building APAC exposure in logistics, hospitality, and living sectors, including SEA transactions.

PAG

Hong Kong-based alternative asset manager with ~$55 billion total AUM, active in APAC real-estate strategies.