Rushabh Desai is head of Asia Pacific with Allianz Real Estate, and is a member of its executive and investment committees. Desai recently spoke with Jonathan Schein, senior vice president and managing director of global business development, with Institutional Real Estate, Inc, about his organisation’s investment strategy and goals, and about how he is leading the expansion of Allianz Real Estate in the Asia Pacific region.

When was Allianz Real Estate organised, and what was its mandate?

In 1985, the property departments of several Allianz insurance companies were merged to create an integrated approach to property investments. The business went through a few iterations before formally establishing Allianz Real Estate in 2008.

Today, Allianz Real Estate is mandated to develop and execute real estate investment strategies on behalf of the Allianz companies. We act as the capti