东京——据《日经新闻》获悉，Advantage Partners正准备于春季前后推出日本首个大型林业基金。该基金旨在整合分散的林地资源，并通过木材、生物质能源及碳信用额度的开发实现收益。
TOKYO -- Advantage Partners is preparing to launch Japan's first major forestry fund as early as spring, aiming to consolidate fragmented woodland resources and generate returns with timber, biomass and carbon credits, Nikkei has learned.
作为日本首个专注于国内林业投资的大型基金，该私募股权基金初始规模达200亿日元（约合1.26亿美元），计划在5至7年内将规模扩大至1000亿日元。预计将有十余家企业参与，包括三井住友信托银行、东京世纪及三菱UFJ银行等金融机构，贸易商丸红、建筑企业大林组以及九州电力等能源公司也均在洽谈合作事宜。
The Japanese private equity firm's fund, the first large one in the country to specialize in domestic forestry investments, will start with 20 billion yen ($126 million). The goal is to boost the figure to 100 billion yen over five to seven years. More than 10 companies are expected to join. Financial institutions like Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, Tokyo Century and MUFG Bank are among those discussing participation, as is trading house Marubeni.
近年来日本林地所有权日益分散——部分原因在于土地继承时被分割给多位继承人；加之林主年龄普遍偏大，森林管理难度持续增加，导致大量林地处于荒废状态。Advantage Partners希望借助该基金实现林地所有权的集中整合，从而提升闲置林业资源的利用效率。
General contractor Obayashi and energy company Kyushu Electric Power also are considering partnering with the fund. Woodland ownership is growing more fragmented -- partly the result of land being split among heirs when owners die -- and management is becoming a greater challenge as owners age, leaving many forests neglected. Advantage Partners envisions using the fund to consolidate ownership toward more effective use of underutilized forestry resources.
初期投资将集中于日本东北部的东北地区与西南部的九州地区。由当地银行及其他企业组建的资产管理公司将负责收购林地，随后基金再从这些管理公司手中购买木材及其他资源的开发权。
Investment will begin with forests in Japan's Tohoku region in the northeast and Kyushu in the southwest. Asset management companies created by local banks and other businesses will buy woodlands. The fund then will purchase the rights to timber and other resources from the asset manager.
该基金将通过出售生物质燃料、木材以及可用于碳排放抵消的碳信用额度来获取收益，所得利润将回馈给各机构投资者。预计年均收益率可达6%至7%。与旨在出售土地的并购基金不同，该林业基金着眼于中长期林木培育以实现稳定盈利，且投资者将优先获得所产生的碳信用额度。
The fund will generate profit by selling biomass fuel and timber, as well as carbon credits that can be used to offset emissions, with profits going back to institutional investors. nual return of 6% to 7% is targeted. Unlike a corporate acquisition fund that would seek to sell off the land, the forestry investment fund is intended to generate reliable profits by growing timber over the medium to long term. Investors will have priority in receiving carbon credits generated.
参与项目的还包括采用智能化森林管理技术的企业，如Themix Green。这些企业运用的数字化手段能够精细管理到单棵树木的库存情况，从而有效提升盈利水平。
Companies that employ smart forest management also will be involved, including Themix Green. The digital methods used by such companies can improve profitability by streamlining inventory management down to individual trees.
目前，多家金融机构正在加拿大、澳大利亚等地设立类似的林业管理基金；而Advantage Partners推出的这一基金则将在日本成为试点案例——日本的土地规模普遍较小，相关权属关系也较为复杂。
Financial institutions are expanding similar forestry management funds in places like Canada and Australia, but the Advantage Partners vehicle will be a test case for Japan, where landholdings are small and rights are complex.
该基金也是Advantage Partners为实现“自然资本规模达1万亿日元”这一长远目标所采取的重要举措之一，其涵盖的范围包括农田、湖泊及湿地等各类自然资源。
The fund also represents part of a push by Advantage Partners toward an eventual goal of 1 trillion yen in natural capital, including farmland, lakes and marshes.