Century Bridge Adds $32.8 Million Hangzhou Investment to China Portfolio

BEIJING and DALLAS, Sept. 4, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Century Bridge Capital announced today that it has invested $32.8 million in a joint venture with Zhejiang Headway Real Estate for the development of a middle-income, residential project in Hangzhou, China, the capital and largest city of Zhejiang Province in Eastern China.  The project will comprise 321,119 square meters and is located in New Lingping City in a well-developed district in northeast Hangzhou.  Funding for the investment was provided by Century Bridge China Real Estate Fund, L.P.  The investment follows on Century Bridge's recent announcement of its $44.4 million investment in a joint venture for the development of a 162,030 square meter residential project in Wuhan, China.

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Commenting on the investment, Century Bridge CEO, Tom Delatour noted, "The Hangzhou project is consistent with our strategy of investing in middle-income housing in Tier II Cities that benefit from China's expanding infrastructure investment and continuing urbanization trend.  As the closest residential project to the recently completed Hangzhou subway the location offers transportation to downtown Hangzhou in 25 minutes via subway and proximity to high speed rail which provides transport to Shanghai's Hongqiao Station in 40 minutes.  In addition, mature retail, medical and education facilities are readily accessible as well as newer amenities including high-end office and retail and a brand-new hospital.   Given these nearby amenities and transportation options, the project is well-positioned within the housing market for Hangzhou's growing middle income population." 

Century Bridge President, Wei Deng, added, "The recognized local expertise of our developer–partner, Zhejiang Headway Real Estate, will be an invaluable asset as we work closely with them throughout the construction, development and marketing processes for the project.  Their decades of experience developing projects across Hangzhou as well as the greater Zhejiang Province and their established history of being an early mover in Hangzhou's up and coming outer districts make them an ideal partner for the development of this type of urban area in Hangzhou." 

With 300-400 million people expected to relocate to China's cities in the next 15 years, China's ongoing urbanization and infrastructure needs will continue to drive growth in the Tier II cities.  Century Bridge Capital believes that this dynamic bodes well for continuing stability and investment opportunity in middle-class housing in China's Tier II cities.

Century Bridge Capital is a private equity firm with offices in Beijing, China and Dallas, Texas.  The firm is focused exclusively on investment in the middle-income, residential real estate sector in China's growing Tier II cities. Its China-focused private equity real estate fund, Century Bridge China Real Estate Fund, L.P., has over $170 million of total committed capital from nine global institutions.

www.centurybridge.com