이 기사는 2020년 01월 09일 08시00분 thebell에 표출된 기사입니다

South Korea’s brokerage firm NH Investment & Securities has bought an Amazon warehouse in Japan, as the rise of online shopping has made logistics properties more attractive in the alternative investment space.

NH Investment has recently acquired a 50.1 percent stake in an Amazon distribution center in Odawara City, Kanagawa Prefecture of Japan for about 150 billion won ($128 million), sources with knowledge of the matter said on January 3. Measuring 200,000 square meters, the warehouse facility is Amazon’s biggest distribution center in Japan. Nuveen Real Estate’s Asia Pacific Cities Fund (APCF) reportedly acquired the remaining 49.9 percent stake.

NH Investment plans to launch a fund after securitization of the Amazon warehouse assets to sell down the portfolio to domestic investors. The fund is expected to yield an annual return of eight percent. The brokerage firm reportedly intends to sell down the entire portfolio, but is also considering holding part of the assets in the form of REITs.

Investment in Amazon warehouses has become more popular among South Korean financial firms, with the e-commerce market growing at a rapid pace globally over the past few years. Last year, the global e-commerce market grew more than 21 percent to reach $2.86 trillion. The increase in demand for distribution centers has accelerated, as Amazon made one-day shipping the default option for all Prime members last year.

Against this backdrop, South Korean financial firms made a series of investments worth nearly two trillion won ($1.7 billion) in Amazon’s logistics centers over the last four years. These assets later have been securitized and sold to domestic institutional investors.

Most of the Amazon warehouses that domestic brokerage houses and asset managers invested in so far are located in Europe. Last year alone, Samsung Securities acquired two warehouses leased by Amazon, each located in the Czech Republic and in Germany. IGIS Asset Management also bought three Amazon distribution centers, each located in France, Spain and Britain, for a total of 540 billion won ($459 million).

With the competition among peers to invest in Amazon warehouses getting intense in Europe, NH Investment turned its eyes to Asia. Its recent transaction marks the first acquisition of an Amazon distribution center in Asia by a South Korean financial firm. Prior to this investment, NH Investment jointly bought an Amazon warehouse in Poznan, Poland with Hana Financial Investment for 100 billion won ($85 million) back in 2016.

“Investing in logistics properties is like investing in a financial product where the rental income is guaranteed for a longer period,” said an industry insider. “With this in mind, Amazon distribution centers can be considered a very stable investment.”

(By reporter Jo Se-hun)