The British Columbia Investment Management Corp. is jointly sponsoring the launch of a company managing timberland assets located in the southeastern U.S.
Together with the BTG Pactual Timberland Investment Group, the BCI will launch Caddo Sustainable Timberlands, which will manage 312,500 hectares of forests located in Texas and Louisiana. With the timberlands certified by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, an organization that monitors the sustainability of commercially managed forests, CST will also be responsible for ensuring that its management of the resources meet ecological integrity standards.
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According to Sameer Jinnah, managing director of resources and infrastructure at the BCI, CST presents the opportunity to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns over a long period of time. “We are excited to be working with trusted partners to continue to increase our exposure to high-quality, sustainably managed forests in core markets.”
In other news, the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec’s real estate subsidiary Ivanhoé Cambridge is investing in a real estate technology fund.
The RealTech Ventures I fund, managed by Taronga Ventures, focuses on strategic opportunities presented by emerging technology companies in Asia. It targets businesses developing new tools relevant to the world’s real estate and infrastructure markets.
The investment is part of a diversification strategy to expand Ivanhoé’s portfolio in the Asia-Pacific region, according to a press release. Sylvain Fortier, chief investment and innovation officer at Ivanhoé, said the investment would allow the organization to capitalize on the rapid urbanization and digitalization of the world.
Read: Caisse investing in wireless communications, BCI in Chile timber
“Technology is a major driving force for real estate to transition into a much more sustainable asset class and we want to remain at the forefront of new technologies and emerging trends globally. . . . Our commitment to the fund will provide us a first-mover advantage in asset management and investments in [the] Asia Pacific, helping us to identify emerging trends across the built environment and accelerating the adoption of technologies targeted at the decarbonization of the real estate sector while creating sustainable outcomes for the sector.”