Blackstone has hired Katsuyuki Kuki as chairman and representative director for Japan.
Kuki will advise and support Blackstone’s investing and capital raising efforts in Japan as the firm continues to expand its presence in the country.
Prior to Blackstone, Kuki was chairman of banking at JP Morgan in Japan and spent nine years at the company in its investment banking division. He began his career at the Japan Development Bank and at Shearson Lehman Hutton in New York, and has also held positions at UBS Securities and Lehman Brothers in Japan.
Kuki has a BA in International Relations from the University of Tokyo and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Blackstone has been investing in the Japanese real estate market since 2010 and has committed to invest Y650 billion ($5.7 billion) in the country. This sum includes the acquisition of the GE Japan residential portfolio, the privatisation of Japan Residential Investment Corporation, the proposed privatisation of Croesus Retail Trust and the proposed acquisition of the real estate portfolio from Astro Japan Property Trust.
Blackstone has also established strong relationships with Japanese investors with over $15 billion of limited partner capital raised since 2009.
