Global Cases

Pushing forward diverse real estate businesses across Asia, from offices, housing, logistics and retail facilities, to urban development

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Taking on challenges in the Asian real estate market

Sumitomo Corporation has been engaged in the real estate business ever since its predecessor, a port developer by the name of The Osaka North Harbour Company Limited, founded in 1919. Throughout its long history as an integrated trading company, Sumitomo Corporation has always positioned its real estate business as one of its core undertakings.

Leveraging our real estate business in Japan as our foundation, we will continue to further accelerate our business in Asia and other parts of the world by making maximum use of our expertise accumulated in a range of fields, including office buildings, retailfacilities, housing, logistics facilities, built-to-suit (BTS) development, and real estate fund management.

Condominiumst, Shuangyou Xinhecheng, in Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province, China

Supporting Japanese corporations in Indonesia

It was in the 1970s that Sumitomo Corporation embarked on the real estate business in Asia, its first venture being a mixed-use complex development project in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand. The business subsequently expanded to cover a wider area including Singapore, Indonesia, China, Taiwan, India and Vietnam.

In 1985, we began operating an office building named Summitmas in Indonesia, with its second building completed in 1992, both of which are mainly rented by Japanese corporations. In addition, Warehouses 1 and 2 were constructed in Jababeka, West Java in 2016 and 2019, respectively. These warehouses are also being used as logistics bases for Japanese entities.

The Sumitomo Corporation Group comprehensively undertakes the development, management and operation of all the office buildings and warehouses in Indonesia. Our ongoing goal is to provide a secure operational base for our tenants, helping them smoothly conduct business in the local region.

Staff members at Summitmas Property, the owner and operator of Summitmas office buildings

Furthering business in a variety of countries/regions and fields

Housing for general consumers is another field we focus on, for example, in cities around China's Yangtze River Delta, Jakarta and its surrounding cities in Indonesia, and Gurugram, India. Our basic business model in housing projects is to develop and market properties mainly through joint ventures set up with local developers. With steady population growth expected to continue in Southeast Asia and India, we hope to offer a continuous stream of high-quality housing properties that will not only help accommodate the expanding population, but also serve as a base for their residents' comfortable lives.

In the retail facilities segment, we entered the Chinese market ahead of other markets. In 2015, we made inroads into the property management business across China and invested in Shanghai Realin Commercial Management, our business partner, to operate and manage retail facilities. Leveraging its know-how, we have joined in a mixed-use project combining housing, office, retail facilities and a hotel in 2022.

Our latest challenge is the large-scale urban development project in Hanoi, Vietnam, which involves developing a smart city in stages at a location with high potential, midway between the heart of the city and the airport, by applying Sumitomo Corporation's integrated corporate strength. To build a safe and comfortable futuristic city, efforts are under way to combine our know-how on city building with technologies and systems associated with mobility, IT/ICT, and energy management.

Illustrative image of the urban development project in Hanoi,Vietnam

Expanding business by utilizing our global networks

The goal of our real estate business in Asia is to expand it in both depth and scope. While looking out for more business opportunities in countries where we already engage in real estate business, we are also making decisive advances into unexplored countries and regions by harnessing the Sumitomo Corporation Group's global network.

In the real estate business, business practices and the competitive environment differ markedly by country and region. We aim to make maximum use of information provided by our colleagues around the world, information on potential partners, and information gathered by colleagues engaged in real estate so that we can seize every opportunity available in each country/region.

The Sumitomo Corporation Group is determined to continue opening up the frontier of real estate business in Asia by fully tapping into the hands-on culture of undertaking ongoing property management with local partners, our real estate business know-how accumulated over long years, our business management capacity, and our strength in the global network.