LaSalle raises $3 billion Asia property fund

HONG KONG, Aug 29 (Reuters) - LaSalle Investment Management has raised a $3 billion "opportunity" fund for Asian property, saying it is interested in investing in Japan, China and South Korea. The fund management unit of property services firm Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL.N) said in a statement on Friday that the fund would use borrowing to boost its spending power to as much as $12 billion.

The company told Reuters in June that it expects assets under management in Asia to double in the next three years from about $11 billion now.

"Asia remains a key strategic priority for our business and we have a very active plan to grow our operations in the region," LaSalle's managing director Philip Ling said in the statement.

"We see a lot of opportunity in Japan, which contains 50 percent of the total value of real estate in Asia, although we also see opportunities in Korea, China and elsewhere in Asia Pacific." ($1=109.09 Yen)