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Kenedix, Inc. was originally founded in April 1995 as a subsidiary of Kennedy-Wilson, Inc., a U.S. real estate company, with its initial key mission being the introduction of the U.S. real estate auction structure to Japanese companies and financial institutions. We started to provide due diligence services to U.S. investors for the acquisition of collateralized real estate properties around 1998, and successively started investment in real estate properties and non-performing loans through co-investments with such U.S. investors. Around that time, the real estate investment market’s recovery from a long-term stagnation following collapse of the bubble economy has started to gather speed-thanks mainly to accelerated disposal of non-performing loans and asset restructuring among Japanese companies triggered by newly introduced mark-to-market and asset-impairment accounting systems. With these changes, our business has enjoyed healthy growth: our client base has expanded from overseas investors to domestic institutional investors such as pension funds, and the investment corporations operated by Kenedix Group companies were listed on the J-REIT market in 2005. With total assets under management, the most important management measure, exceeding \735 billion as at the end of December 2007, Kenedix has become one of the leading real estate asset managers in Japan.
Kenedix was first listed on NASDAQ Japan (renamed Hercules) as a Japanese company in 2002, and then on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2004 to expand its financial base and stabilize its business footing. We at Kenedix are committed to continue to put forth our utmost efforts to further increase the balance of assets under management, achieve a strong, leading asset management position and engage in business that will contribute to the reinvigoration of the Japanese economy.

Chairman and Representative Director　

The areas of real estate and real estate financing, which are among the core businesses of the Kenedix Group, have been and will continue to be growing as important fund operating methods as evidenced in the expansion of the J-REIT market and investment of the pension funds in real estate, which Kenedix has been promoting. Under such circumstances, demands for professional services we offer are expected to steadily increase, and we are determined to offer comprehensive investment services that cover every aspect of the real estate investment process.
To be more specific, we are planning to grow investment in highly profitable real estate assets and expand our business base by proactively diversifying investment opportunities. Our endeavors are not limited to the investment opportunities in existing properties. We are increasingly focusing our resources on development projects through which we can proactively generate investment opportunities and offer a wider range of investment properties in terms of types and sizes. To secure attractive investment targets, we are also looking at regional business-oriented properties such as small-scale shopping facilities, nursing-care/medical centers and hotels where investment returns depend on the operational performance. If an M&A or capital alliance appears to help grow the total assets under management, diversify investment properties and improve existing business through synergies, we will consider such tactics that will provide strong methods for business expansion.
We gather, analyze and stay on top of the financial and real-estate trends of a variety of countries and regions so that we can promptly adapt to the global flow of capital and investment needs of the Japanese investors who are interested in investing in overseas real estate, as well as for overseas investors who intend to invest in Japanese real estate as a gatekeeper who helps find the best investment properties for every client. Against the backdrop of growing interest in real estate property investment, an increasing number of new companies are entering the market. To prosper in this increasingly competitive environment, steadily securing high-performance investment properties is at the top of our group’s business agenda. Our biggest strength, and also the most important responsibility to our clients who have placed their trust in us, is the continuous provision of attractive investment opportunities. This is achieved through our creativity, expertise, experience and capability of obtaining advantageous investment terms and conditions through independent negotiations, rather than competitive bidding, based on our strong track record.

President and Representative Director