The State Oil Fund of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) is pleased to announce the sale of Pine Avenue Tower A, a 25-storey office building located in Seoul’s CBD submarket, for KRW 521.5 billion to Shinhan Card, the major tenant at the building.

Completed in 2011, the building maintained high occupancy levels and provided SOFAZ with a stable income stream. SOFAZ purchased the asset in March 2014 for KRW 470 billion. The total return from the sale was 36.2% (Income return 31.4%, capital return 4.8%).

Israfil Mammadov, the executive director of SOFAZ, said, “Pine Avenue Tower A was a great opportunity for us to acquire a Class-A building at an attractive basis and to capitalize on the tremendous momentum in the property market. Its successful disposition has validated this strategy and delivered strong risk-adjusted returns.

Further, this sale demonstrates the resilient fundamentals of the real estate market, despite the challenging circumstances due to COVID-19. This direct asset sale is in line with our revised portfolio strategy that focuses on indirect real estate investments.”