ProLogis, the world’s biggest publicly traded warehouse developer, plans to double investment in Japan in the next three years, chief executive Jeffrey Schwartz said in an interview today.
ProLogis has invested 560 billion yen ($4.8 billion) in Japan since 2001 and owns 86 distribution centers with more than 2.4 million square meters (25.8 million square feet) of floor space, including 17 properties bought this month from Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. for 85 billion yen. Denver-based ProLogis is developing a further 460,000 square meters of space in the country.
Land prices are rising in Japan after snapping a 15-year decline in 2006, prompting Matsushita and other non-real estate companies to sell properties that house their businesses and lease them back.
“The opportunity in Japan is more of reconfiguration of supply chain,” said Schwartz. “There were a lot of smaller inefficient distribution facilities in Japan.” The company plans to expand in Asia through “organic growth, development starts, acquisitions in Japan, the same in China and Korea as well as India,” said Schwartz.
Steps will include an increase of staff in Asia by 20 to 25 percent, said Schwartz, 48, who is in Tokyo for meetings with clients. It currently employs 750 in the region.
