OREANDA-NEWS. On November 29, 2007 during the business visit of Victor Zubkov, Prime Minister of Russia, to Canada a partnership agreement was signed between VTB Bank and  SITQ - one of the major real estate market players in Canada, reported the press-centre of VTB.

Under the agreement, the parties will cooperate in the establishment of a real estate joint venture, whose primary focus is investments in commercial real estate projects in Russia and other CIS countries. The size of the joint venture will amount to $200 MM of equity.

The involvement of SITQ brings additional expertise in investment analysis, projects due diligence, development and management of commercial real estate sites and allows VTB Group to notably enhance performance in real estate investment, up to the highest world standards. 

Joint participation will also provide the parties with access to new and challenging opportunities. 
Andrei Kostin, VTB Chairman and CEO, is cited to say: “Currently real estate development is one of the fastest growing sectors, which presents VTB with additional opportunities for investments in highly efficient projects in the framework of the Investment Business Development Strategy. We hope that our partnership with SITQ will become a cornerstone for significant further increase in investments within this sector”.

For reference: Founded in 1984, SITQ is a real estate investment, management and development firm. Its portfolio is comprised of office buildings and business parks. SITQ owns real estate assets of 10,3 billion dollars Canadian consisting of 114 properties representing more than 35 million square feet (3.3 million square metre) of leasable space. A leader in the Canadian real estate industry, SITQ also owns assets in the United States, France, the United Kingdom and Germany.

One of the subsidiaries of the Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec, five other significant pension funds accounts as its shareholders. SITQ employs 390 people who work in Montreal, Canada where its head office is located, and in its Calgary, Canada and Bruxelles, Belgium offices. For more information: www.sitq.com.