JD Property completed its first logistics acquisition in Dubai’s Jebel Ali Free Zone
JINGDONG Property, the infrastructure and asset management division of e-commerce giant is stepping into a global leading role in logistics investment, having entered its tenth country during the third quarter.
Better known as JD Property, the company developed out of a need to develop and manage infrastructure for JD.com, Inc, China’s largest retailer by revenue. However, with increasing demands in the warehousing industry, JD Property has also served a wide range of clients beyond JD.com, leading to a significant growth in its managed assets and the beginning of its global expansion. This saw it enter new markets, including the Middle East, with the establishment of a set of projects in the United Arab Emirates in recent months.
In June this year, JD Property successfully completed its first logistics infrastructure acquisition in Dubai’s Jebel Ali Free Zone (JAFZA), signifying the investment management firm’s commitment to developing in the Middle East. The company’s business now spans investment, development and asset management of logistics and industrial parks, business parks, data centers and other assets.
The opening of its 10,000 square metre (108,000 sq ft) warehouse in Dubai’s Jebel Ali Free Zone was the first step in JD Property’s plan to expand its logistics business across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and came less than three months after the company entered the Australian market with the acquisition of a property in Brisbane.
“E-commerce is penetrating more markets globally, and with our experience developing and managing modern logistics facilities in Asia Pacific, there are opportunities to apply our expertise in more markets. While creating more value for our partners, we also serve the space requirements of customers that have already established long-term relationships with JD Group,” according to JD Property.
Middle East Expansion
JD Property’s Dubai opening came within weeks of the company announcing its first greenfield warehouse project in the Middle East, with the aim of developing a logistics facility at the ADAFZ Logistics Park in the Abu Dhabi Airports Freezone.
Working in partnership with Abu Dhabi Airports, which operates the Emirate’s Zayed International and other airports, JD Property aims to build a 70,000 square metre (753,474 sq ft) warehouse to support growing cross-border e-commerce demand in the Middle East and enhance air freight and distribution services across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
JD Property’s ADAFZ Logistics Park facility is its first greenfield project in the Middle East
“This signing marks an important milestone for both sides, and we highly value the trust and support from our partner,” a JD Property spokesperson said in a statement at the time. “We have great respect for the UAE market and are committed to bringing our expertise and resources to support the country’s logistics infrastructure development and e-commerce capabilities.”
The greenfield development project was launched just over one month after JD Property had announced its acquisition of its project in Dubai’s Jebel Ali Free Zone (JAFZA).
According to a company spokesperson, the company has laid out a mid-to-long-term investment plan for the Middle East, and completed the acquisition of another warehouse project in Dubai in September, with these early projects positioned as pilots for future expansion.
Adding More APAC Markets
JD Property’s entry into the Middle East comes after the company made its first acquisition in Australia in April this year, where it acquired a 99,000 square meter Brisbane industrial estate.
“This acquisition marks a strategic move that significantly enhances our regional platform in key Asia Pacific markets, with Australia being a standout example,” said Richard Law, head of Asia Pacific at JD Property. “The country’s robust macroeconomic conditions, sustained population growth and a remarkable rise in e-commerce penetration rate, have converged to create compelling opportunities in industrial logistics assets.”
JD Property’s project in Brisbane, Australia
Law tied the Australia expansion to serving JD.com’s customer base across the region, while also creating value for investors. In growing its business in Asia Pacific, JD Property has worked with both Warburg Pincus and Hillhouse Investment in building its Asia Pacific business, with both companies among the largest investors in logistics platforms in the region.
With Japan growing in importance as an investment destination for global fund managers, JD Property made its debut in Asia’s second largest economy with the acquisition of a pair of warehouses in Chiba prefecture and Nagoya in late 2024.
That investment gave JD Property a starter portfolio of 103,000 square metres of gross floor area in the country, which the company’s leadership pointed to as part of the firm establishing itself as a regional player.
European Platform Established
After entering Europe with the purchase of a 35,000 square metre distribution centre in England’s Milton Keynes in 2022, JD Property added a 23,000 square metre project in Rugby, in the Midlands, in July this year. A number of existing assets, value-add / reposition, and development projects in the Midlands and Manchester metro areas are also scheduled to transact by the year end.
With these investment bringing JD Property’s UK portfolio to 16 assets spanning more than 360,000 square metres of gross floor area, serving key logistic regions of the Golden Triangle, Birmingham, Liverpool/Manchester, and more. Beyond the UK market, JD Property also expanded into continental Europe in 2022, shortly after its initial UK acquisition. It has seen significant growth since then, with multiple assets in Utretch, Venray/Venlo areas of the Netherlands and across top tier markets of Germany. Additional projects in continental Europe are also on target for closing later this year and early 2026.
JD Property’s project in the UK Midlands region
Kai-yan Lee, head of European and the Americas at JD Property, remarked: “These acquisitions reflect our continued confidence in the UK and key continental European markets, and our focus to build and upgrade modern warehouse infrastructures in these global infrastructures nexuses. It is our commitment to support our clients’s global expansion ambition, enabling them to improve customer experiences with geographically efficient distribution of inventories for timely and reliable deliveries.”
JD Property has also been active in Southeast Asia since 2020, when it acquired its first asset outside of China by investing in a 100,000 square metre logistics park in Vietnam. The company has since also invested in Singapore, Indonesia and other Southeast Asia logistics assets through joint ventures with local partners.
JD Property managed more than 270 infrastructure projects across 11 countries, spanning more than 26 million square metres. The value of the company’s assets under management currently stands at more than $15 billion.
