Even if money is going out of emerging markets, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board said it will be opening an office in Sao Paulo, Brazil in April in a bid to beef up investments in the real estate and infrastructure sectors, Reuters reported.
The worldwide dealmaker which is focused on diversifying its portfolio valued $174 billion said this would be the perfect time to set its fifth global office in operation even as it acknowledged that rivals like sovereign wealth funds are also on the lookout for like assets, the report said.
In an interview, CPPIB Chief Executive Officer Mark Wiseman told Reuters, "When other people are exiting the market is perhaps the best time to be entering, particularly when currency values might be a little bit weakened... The good news is there is probably less competition than there was a year ago, with capital flows out as opposed to in."
CPPIB's four offices are located in Toronto, New York, London and Hong Kong. According to Wiseman, the Sao Paolo office will be the base for the investments it makes in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, the report said.
The Canadian public pension fund has close to C$5 billion worth of invested assets in the region. Wiseman revealed that the fund will concentrate on making real estate and infrastructure investments. However, Reuters reported that public and private equity and private debt will probably come next as the economy of the region becomes more liberal and capital flows more freely.
Wiseman admitted that they are facing more competition. He said, "But as the sovereign wealth funds, who are by and large larger than we are, look for assets around the world, we are seeing a greater degree of competition, and that is one of the reasons we have to build long-term capability, including in global markets like Asia and Latin America -- to find the best opportunities."
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