The company, which is expanding its presence in Japan and South Korea, has also made new appointments to its teams there.
Hines is growing its regional offices with the appointment of Hyungsub Lee, a director, in the Seoul office, and Sho Morita, an associate in the Tokyo office, both of whom are new to the firm, it announced on Tuesday in a statement.
The two offices will also transition to focus on sourcing domestic deals, with Drew Huffman, managing director and 10-year veteran at Hines, overseeing the new business initiatives in the two countries, the announcement said.
Since opening the Seoul and Tokyo offices in 2013 and 2017 respectively, Hines has increased its headcount to seven in the two countries. The team is expected to nearly double by year-end as the offices increase their focus on development and acquisitions in their respective economies.
Experienced Personnel
Huffman joined Hines in 2011 and relocated to Tokyo from Hong Kong in early 2020. Lee brings more than 12 years of Korean real estate experience with him, and was previously head of transactions at DWS Korea.
Morita joined Hines in 2020 after more than eight years with Hulic, one of Japan’s largestal estate companies.
Asia Opportunity
Investors are increasing their focus and allocations toward Asia, Hines said. The company currently has projects underway in Dongguan, China and Melbourne, Australia.
Founded in 1957, Hines has approximately $144.1 billion in assets under management. The company first entered the Asia Pacific Region in China in 1996 and has expanded to Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea and Singapore, with $4.2 billion of assets under management and a headcount of 200.
