IGIS ASIA looks beyond data centers to living, healthcare investments

IGIS ASIA, the Asia-Pacific investment arm of IGIS Asset Management, has designated living and healthcare as its next-generation core investment sectors and is broadening its reach across the Asia-Pacific region.

According to IGIS Asset Management, IGIS ASIA was established in 2020 as a fully licensed independent asset manager authorized by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. The firm has full-stack capabilities — raising capital directly, setting up funds and managing investments end to end. Operating out of Singapore, it has built an investment network spanning major Asia-Pacific markets including Japan and Hong Kong, serving as IGIS Asset Management's regional investment hub.

IGIS ASIA built its track record primarily through data center investment and management, moving early to capture structural demand driven by global digital transformation and AI industry growth. Drawing on the due-diligence and structured-operations expertise developed through that work, the firm is now diversifying its portfolio into living and healthcare.

In the living segment, Japan is the firm's primary target. The country is undergoing long-term structural demographic shifts — an aging population, a rise in single- and two-person households and growing demand for urban housing — making it a market where stable rental demand and operating income can be expected at the same time.

Rather than simply acquiring assets, IGIS ASIA is pursuing a dual strategy that combines property investment (PropCo) with investment in operating platforms (OpCo). The approach is designed to secure both capital gains from asset appreciation and steady cash flow from operations, reinforcing the stability and sustainability of its earnings structure.

The firm is also expanding into healthcare. Last year, IGIS ASIA invested in MonitCell, a stem-cell specialist, establishing a foothold in the healthcare real estate market. It plans to work with MonitCell to set up a healthcare real estate fund and build an operations platform, scaling toward a differentiated business model that integrates medical services with real estate management.

The strategy aligns with the rapidly growing medical tourism market. Investment opportunities to capture healthcare demand from across Asia are expanding, underpinned by South Korea's competitive medical services and biotech capabilities.

Industry observers say that if IGIS ASIA's life sciences investment, living fund formation and healthcare platform development gain full momentum, the firm's growth foundation will become considerably more solid.

With Tokyo and Singapore as its core strategic markets, IGIS ASIA plans to keep expanding living and healthcare investment opportunities while strengthening its position across the Asia-Pacific through a differentiated strategy that combines asset investment with operating platform investment.

"Asian markets have entered a phase where operational capabilities — not just asset ownership — determine investment outcomes," an IGIS ASIA official said. "We will build a next-generation investment platform centered on living and healthcare, grounded in local expertise and a global network, and establish ourselves as a leading asset manager across the Asia-Pacific."

IGIS Asset Management appointed Kang Young-gu as chief executive of IGIS ASIA last December. Kang is leading the firm's push into major Asian markets and the expansion of its global limited-partner network.