Singapore's GIC says subprime crisis hurting Asia

SINGAPORE, May 15 (Reuters) - The real estate arm of the Government of Singapore Investment Corp (GIC) said on Thursday that the credit crunch arising from the U.S subprime crisis is being felt in Asian property markets.

"Some market weakening is being sensed in Asia, particularly in Japan and in Australia," the president of GIC Real Estate Seek Ngee Huat said in a speech at a property industry conference.

He added that the softening in the Chinese property market was likely due to measures taken by authorities to cool the market rather than the subprime crisis.

GIC, estimated to be the world's third-largest sovereign wealth fund with $330 billion in assets, is also ranked among the world's top 10 property investors, owning buildings such as Merrill Lynch's London office and Westin Paris. (Reporting by Daryl Loo and Kevin Lim; Editing by Jan Dahinten)