Leading Malaysian property developer Sime Darby Property Berhad has yesterday launched an RM1.25 billion (US$ 300 million) fund focused on build-to-suit-to-lease data centres, and industrial and logistics developments, within the company’s key townships in Malaysia. The Shariah-compliant closed-end fund has a fund life of five years and has already achieved 100 per cent capital commitment at its first close, the firms says in a press release.
Named the New Economy Venture fund, the discretionary investment platform leverages the firm’s land bank, master developer and leasing capabilities, and industrial ecosystems to support the growing domestic demand for new economy assets such as data centers.
The Fund is backed by institutional investors, including the Employees Provident Fund, Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera, and Great Eastern Life Assurance (Malaysia) Berhad. The participation of its existing investor, Great Eastern Life Assurance, from its first fund is hailed as an affirmation of Sime Darby Property’s successful ability to originate, develop, and manage high-quality institutional real estate assets.
Sime Darby Property will act as the general partner and sponsor to the Fund and has committed RM500.1 million as a co-investor at first close.
The fund has secured two seed assets within its flagship township, Elmina Business Park and City of Elmina, which represent about 85 per cent of the target fund size and supported by long-term lease. Construction of both assets is expected to be completed in the second half of 2027.
Dato’ Seri Azmir Merican, Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Sime Darby Property, said, “As general partner and manager to the Fund, it will enable Sime Darby Property to diversify its recurring income streams through investment yield and fee-based income from the development of new economy assets such as data centres and warehouses, which are much in demand in the Malaysian real estate market.”
The establishment of the fund aligns with Sime Darby Property’s SHIFT32 strategy that focuses on institutionalising and scaling its investment management capabilities to grow its recurring income base. The Fund also reinforces the Group’s capital-light growth strategy by leveraging third-party institutional capital to accelerate the development of new economy assets within its townships.
Sime Darby Property’s IAM division currently manages about RM4.4 billion in Assets Under Management, supported by a long-term hyperscale data centre lease that came on stream in April 2026. The fund builds on its first fund, the Industrial Development Fund (“IDF”) launched in 2022.