Keppel Capital Holdings Pte. Ltd., the asset management arm of industrial conglomerate Keppel Corp. Ltd., is partnering with MindChamps PreSchool Ltd. to set up an education real estate fund with an initial target of S$200 million.

Under a nonbinding memorandum of understanding, Keppel Capital and MindChamps will manage the private fund through a 50/50 joint venture.

The Keppel MindChamps Education Real Estate Fund aims to invest in preschool and early learning real estate properties in the Asia-Pacific region, which MindChamps or its affiliates will rent under long-term leases.

The MOU was signed between the asset manager's Keppel Capital Ventures Pte. Ltd. unit and MindChamps, which is the first Singapore-listed operator of preschools and early learning centers, according to a July 26 release.

As of July 25, US$1 was equivalent to S$1.36.