Chinese asset management firm Citic Capital has launched a US$683 million investment fund dedicated to retail property development in China.

The new fund raised more than the US$600 million target.

Citic Capital has already committed approximately US$250 million equity in three projects, in ID Mall in Changsha, Hunan province, another in Hefei, Anhui province and the third one in Shanghai.

The last two are development projects that will commence construction in third quarter this year.

The new fund will further invest in four to five projects. The firm said it will focus more in second tier cities where the retail infrastructure still has much room to grow.

“It is a tough fund raising environment, but fortunately investors are positive about the strategy of our fund and have shown confidence in our execution capacity,” said senior MD and head of real estate Stanley Ching.

“The strong track record of our previous funds has no doubt been a contributing factor.”

Founded in 2002, Citic Capital Holdings manages more than US$4 billion of capital from a diverse group of international institutional investors.