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Tanmiyat Investment Group, a Saudi development company, plan to divest $1 billion-worth of assets through a property trust listing in the US and to set up a Singapore-based finance firm to fund its expansion abroad. The firm is also considering an IPO in either Singapore or London in 2009 to raise about $1.2 billion, or equivalent to 30% of its total $4 billion assets.

Dutch and Danish pension funds ABP and ATP have teamed up with German real estate firm Patrizia Immobilien to launch a joint venture that will invest up to €700 million in German commercial real estate.

German CMBS enjoys boom time

Morley, a UK property fund manager, has increased its European capability with three hires and one internal reshuffle. Andreas von Gossler joins as head of acquisitions for the European property fund. Previously he was a fund manager at the German real estate group Union Investment. Lorenzo Segre, comes from Italy’s Pirelli Real Estate, and will become a manager on the Morley European fund. Also joining is analyst Matthew Hills who comes from HDG Mansur Investment Services, a US property group that specialises in Islamic Shariah-compliant products. All three report to Julian Taylor, lead manager of the European fund.

Hypo Real Estate Capital Corp, the New York subsidiary of Hypo Real Estate Bank International, has hired Dana Valenti as director, origination, reporting directly to Samuel Kirschner, managing director, head of origination. Valenti joins Hypo from the strategic capital group at GE Real Estate, where she was responsible for originating large loans used in opportunity funds and Reits.

Aberdeen Property Investors has recruited a seven-strong property investment management team from Credit Suisse Asset Management, headed by the new head of property asset management in the UK, Glenn Newson. The new hires, announced at the beginning of March, coincide with plans to launch Aberdeen’s first UK property fund.

The Association of Real Estate Funds, the representative body for unlisted commercial real estate funds, announced on April 2 the continued expansion of its membership with the addition of four new funds.

Middle East thrives on new rules of the game

Deutsche Börse announced in May that it would launch an index covering real estate investment trusts.

Real estate derivatives market participants believe that new property index definitions and trade confirmation forms, published by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association on May 4, will spur an increase in liquidity as investors become more familiar and confident in trading and legal risks are reduced.

Morley Fund Management is the latest European investor to move into the Chinese property market.

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