New AMB property fund to target Mexico pensions

* Share of $85 billion in pension cash is eyed

* More commercial, industrial real estate funds expected

* Investments in private equity, infrastructure ahead

By Patrick Rucker

MEXICO CITY, March 8 (Reuters) - AMB Property Corp AMB.N expects to soon offer a new commercial real state fund in Mexico that aims to draw investment from the nation's private pensions.

San Francisco-based AMB, which invests in distribution hubs, has asked the Mexican stock exchange to let it list a fund and invite the nation's 14 private pensions to place part of their $85 billion in combined assets, the company said.

"We are in the process of an offering, but we can't say anything beyond that at this point in time," said Jon Boilard, a spokesman for AMB, which has stakes in warehouse and distribution networks around the globe.

Recent deregulation has allowed Mexico's risk-shy pension funds, known as Afores, to chase riskier assets offering larger returns, and investment banks have responded by helping craft new securities.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon wants the Afores to give a capital injection to roads, ports and other big infrastructure projects and new rules also allow the pensions to invest broadly in private equity.

Fund managers say that Credit Suisse (CS.N), Santander (SAN.MC) and BBVA are among the banks most active in bringing new investments to the Afores in regular investor road shows. Roughly 30 new funds could debut on the stock exchange before the end of the year, managers said.

In November, Prudential Financial (PRU.N) said that it, too, was crafting a real estate investment fund in Mexico aimed at the Afores. GE Capital (GE.N), one of the top commercial lenders in Mexico, may also make a push for a real estate investment fund that targets Afores, said one industry source.

BBVA (BBVA.MC), Citigroup (C.N) and ING (ING.AS) are the three leaders in the pension fund sector.

The Afores are permitted to invest roughly 8 percent of their assets in structured products and the funds are expected to expand those holdings in the coming years.

(Reporting by Patrick Rucker; Editing by Richard Chang)