CapitaLand Investment (CLI) has appointed Kara Wang, an experienced real estate finance executive, to lead its deal-making in China, the company’s largest growth market. Wang, who previously served as Managing Director and Co-Head of Asia Real Estate and Lodging at Citibank, brings more than two decades of experience in finance and real estate and an extensive network of global and Chinese investors within the regional investment community.
CLI’s CEO, Lim Ming Yan, expressed confidence in Wang’s ability to sharpen the company’s investment expertise and build new strategic capabilities for CLI in Greater China. Before joining Citibank, Wang spent nine years as a Managing Director with HSBC in Hong Kong, where she served as Global Co-Head of Real Estate and Lodging while leading the real estate investment bank team in Asia, closing over 300 capital market transactions.
In her new role, Wang has been mandated to lead direct investments for CLI’s onshore and offshore fund products while developing its onshore capital markets capabilities and driving inorganic platform acquisitions. In addition to these duties, Wang will also serve as CLI’s country representative for Hong Kong and work to expand the firm’s business and capital partners network in the city.
CapitaLand Investment has been expanding its fund management business in China, setting up a series of renminbi funds in mainland China and announcing an $820 million special situations strategy for China and a $750 million China data centre development fund in February. The company has used its renminbi funds to acquire assets during an ongoing market downturn, developing the first phase of Tishman Speyer’s The Springs office project in Shanghai in January and purchasing an office block in the city’s Zhangjiang High Tech Park in November.