The Fiji National Provident Fund (FNPF) has defended its acquisition of a mixed-use commercial and industrial portfolio of prime assets at the Kalabu Tax Free Zone (KTFZ) from Lyndhurst Investments Pte Limited.
The acquisition, announced last month by the pension fund, has come under fire on social media with critics accusing the fund of being forced into what they claimed was a $500m deal.
“The fund acquired the assets from Lyndhurst in June this year for $47.5million as part of our broader plan to build a strategic property portfolio,” FNPF said in a statement issued yesterday.
“The acquisition is for the property and not the business, which is totally separate. It is important for members and interested stakeholders to understand the difference and not misconstrue the acquisition.”
The properties — which sits on 8.2 acres of land according to FNPF’s earlier announcement on the acquisition – comprise three factory outlets and three warehouse buildings, with existing tenants being Lyndhurst’s garment manufacturing business Kookai, RCL Services, Hot Bread Kitchen and Gibson Freight.
FNPF’s chief executive officer Viliame Vodonaivalu had alluded to prospects of catering for the emerging BPO market (business processing outsourcing) as well as the logistics and warehouse sector.
“Like any investment, this acquisition was guided by our Investment Policy Statement and all governance processes were followed including an independent market valuation,” FNPF stated.
“This acquisition is in line with the fund’s mandate to diversify and build an industrial property portfolio, which would generate rental income and capital appreciation that will contribute to the overall growth of the investment.”
