Peter Hwang’s dialogue with Guandian: Blackstone’s multi-class asset portfolio DragonCor’s “simple button”
Summary: Backed by Blackstone, DragonCor’s mission is very simple, which is to provide asset management services for Blackstone, facilitate the development of Blackstone’s real estate businesses in China, and maximize the value of its every asset.
Guandian: Science fiction writer William Gibson wrote that “the future is already here. It’s just not evenly distributed yet.” Indeed, the opportunities have already arrived. Based on the timing and trends, what are the most promising fields for the future?
Known as the “King of PE”, Blackstone has realized rapid expansion in China’s logistics space through the acquisition of Guangzhou International Airport R&F Integrated Logistics Park in 2021. On November 8, DragonCor, a portfolio company owned by Blackstone Real Estate funds, announced that 280,000 square meters of high-quality modern warehouses in the Greater Bay Area will soon be added to its platform. We took this opportunity to have a dialogue with DragonCor CEO Peter Hwang, who appeared in front of the screen with a smile in a dark suit.
FUTURE
Logistics is an important part of financial institution Blackstone’s global investment portfolio, but the name “DragonCor” seems less familiar. Blackstone has built the asset portfolio and established DragonCor in 2017. The existing logistics assets are strategically distributed in major cities and logistics hubs in China. Backed by Blackstone’s global scale, professional logistics knowledge, and modern, high-quality logistics and warehousing facilities, DragonCor has become one of China’s leading comprehensive logistics service providers.
Since joining DragonCor in 2021, Peter Hwang has been in charge of the company’s overall operations and future development planning, focusing on planning the growth of logistics, long-term rental apartments, commercial real estate and other businesses. Regarding the future prospects of logistics, Peter Hwang first shared some data. China accounted for less than 1% of the global e-commerce market a decade ago; today, it’s the world’s largest e-commerce market, increasing its global market share to more than 40%. China now handles more transactions per year than France, Germany, Japan, the UK and the US combined. The dramatic increase in internet usage is driving the rapid development: China currently has more than 800M internet users. In the meantime, the internet users are big online shoppers. During the Alibaba Singles Day last year, it recorded over US$84 billion in orders, setting a new record. On the other hand, China’s mobile penetration is broad and deep, leading to an unprecedented rise in mobile payments; China’s middle-class population currently has 400 million, which is a third of China’s total population. Also, there are more domestic e-commerce players expanding overseas presence. All these factors favor e-commerce adoption and thus driving the rapid growth of logistics in China. On the current development of the warehousing and logistics industry, Peter Hwang said that the retail and logistics infrastructure in China remains less developed than in other markets, which presents tremendous opportunities. Blackstone’s brand reputation, scale and ability to build platforms provide competitive advantages to DragonCor. Currently, customers have higher requirements for warehousing and logistics. With tenants in various sectors such as life sciences, cold storage, third-party logistics, DragonCor will maintain close communication with them. The platform will provide customization and find efficient, technology-driven solutions based on customers’ locations, businesses and needs in order to provide them better services.
Backed by Blackstone, DragonCor’s mission is very simple, which is to provide asset management services for Blackstone, facilitate the development of Blackstone’s real estate businesses in China, and maximize the value of its every asset. Therefore, DragonCor needs to find a dynamic balance between risk management and customer-centricity, providing differentiated innovation capabilities and solutions as well as attracting the best talents. These can be regarded as DragonCor’s two “simple buttons”.
DEVELOPMENT
During the three years from 2018 to 2021, DragonCor’s logistics portfolio has achieved a rapid growth with a gross floor area from 1.8 million to 5 million square meters, managing over 40 logistics parks across 18 cities. Peter Hwang added DragonCor’s carefully selected portfolio of high-quality assets mainly operates in major cities and logistics hubs in China including Guangzhou and Shanghai. The portfolio is concentrated in logistics. Taking the Greater Bay Area as an example, Guangzhou is the main distribution center in South China. JD.com, Amazon and Suning have all set up regional distribution facilities in the province. Guangzhou’s core sub-markets include Huangpu, Zengcheng, Huadu and Conghua. At the same time, the warehousing demand has gradually widened to Foshan and Dongguan. There are many logistics parks such as Foshan Nanhai Logistics Park, Lubao Logistics Park, Dongguan Changping Logistics Park, etc. In terms of the business, DragonCor focuses on end-market demand generated by end customers. The tenants are mainly third-party logistics, e-commerce, and cold chain, fresh food and other fast-growing and relatively defensive industries. Therefore, DragonCor’s logistics portfolio is concentrated in Guangzhou, Shanghai and other first-tier cities and logistics hub cities.
This year, the logistics parks in Shanghai and Guangzhou are facing the pandemic challenges. Peter Hwang pointed out that from operational perspective, DragonCor attaches great importance to pandemic prevention. The firm protects all the assets and the health of employees and actively cooperates with the local government. In addition, DragonCor maintains close communication with customers and tries its best to satisfy them based on the daily changes and on-site operation needs, helping mitigate the negative impact of pandemic on them.
In recent years, the development of digitalization is highly valued. Informatization has empowered traditional logistics, and the advantages of smart logistics parks have become more obvious. He pointed out that the smart logistics park involves many aspects, including the change of management mode and the transformation of hardware, software and systems. Therefore, DragonCor is in the process of learning; its main job is to communicate with the experts of smart logistics park and exchange insights with them about its businesses and situation. But in the end, it always loops back to what is best for the customer and how to develop the capabilities to tailor to customers’ end demands.
At the same time, DragonCor has rapidly developed from a pure logistics platform to a multi-asset class portfolio, spanning logistics, residential and office. Peter Hwang told us that the other assets in DragonCor’s portfolio are all located in Shanghai, such as commercial offices, long-term rental apartments, life science parks, etc. Nevertheless, DragonCor’s portfolio is concentrated in logistics.
CULTURE
The global economy and market are always changing, and Blackstone is also adapting its investment strategy in response to the changes; at the same time, Blackstone has a cautious investment attitude and management philosophy to attract top talents. The global experiences and networks brought by Blackstone can help DragonCor identify market response and clients’ needs when developing businesses in China. DragonCor can also benefit from Blackstone’s global scale, which makes the platform an appealing advantage.
Peter Hwang said that every company has a corporate culture, and DragonCor pays great attention to culture and values. “The company’s mission, vision, and core values are the most critical things to build and manage a team. A good company allows us to attract better talents. They will then stay here to develop their careers, and will provide customers better service. I hope our team possesses the spirit of cooperation and collaboration. As the team continues to grow, I also aspire to see that employees can integrate into this team culture actively and helping each other, bringing out their best to the clients.”
”The team is also another “simple button” for DragonCor to grow. The team has grown to more than 80 professionals and has recently welcomed a number of industry veterans to further build the team and expand business. These talents help the firm strengthen in-house core competencies, including asset management, leasing, development, management, ESG, etc. Peter Hwang believed the collective diverse experience allows the platform to better serve its investors and tenants. Particularly, one of the new hirings is Chunxiao Gu for ESG. With nearly 10 years of working experience in the field of sustainable development and consulting, she oversees the overall ESG strategy and implementation, covering strategic framework, governance, roadmap and target performance.
China’s ESG market is developing rapidly, and many companies are practicing the concept of green development. ESG is a priority at DragonCor, seeking to create positive economic impact and long-term value for its investors. Thus, it has hired veteran like Chunxiao Gu to lead the efforts. Peter Hwang excitedly shared that DragonCor addresses E/S/G at corporate level and aims to extend the positive impacts to its assets, partners and the communities where it operates. At asset level, he said relevant ESG principles guide its projects from the beginning, ensuring high standards on sustainability to guide its site selection, design process, material selection, construction and operation.
Blackstone has set a 15% on average carbon emissions-reduction target, a three-year goal that applies to certain investments where it controls energy usage. DragonCor follows the same commitment and focuses on decarbonization, including green building efforts. The platform’s goal is to make 100% of its managed buildings green certified within the next three years. DragonCor has also partnered with different institutions to drive ESG development such as joining the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) membership and partnering with JLL to publish an ESG white paper. DragonCor will soon release its first ESG roadmap that reveals its ESG ambitions and guides its future ESG actions.
This is a translated version. The article originates from Guandian.