GE To Enter China Real Estate Market With $20 Million Joint Venture

General Electric Co., the world's largest publicly traded real estate investor, said it will enter China's real estate market by putting $20 million into a joint venture with China Vanke Co.

The investment with China Vanke, the nation's biggest publicly listed real estate investor, could grow to as much as $150 million, Stamford, Conn.-based GE Real Estate said yesterday in a statement.

The venture will focus on residential areas in the Pearl River Delta Region, the Yangtze River Delta Region, the Pan Bohai Region, and other inland cities. GE Real Estate Chief Executive Officer Michael Pralle is targeting areas he thinks can add to one of the parent company's fastest-growing units, where profit climbed 14% in 2005 as sales rose 13%.

Asia accounts for about $3.7 billion of GE Real Estate's more than $35 billion in assets, according to presentations and filings from the company. GE has some transactions lined up and "several hundred million dollars" to invest in other kinds of assets in China, including retail, hotel, office, and industrial properties, Mr. Pralle said in the statement.

The venture, called CITIC Capital Vanke China Property Development Fund, will be managed by CITIC Capital, an arm of the CITIC Group, a privately held investment holding company.