Sumitomo Mitsui Banking, a Japanese multinational banking and financial services institution, agreed to invest $500m in ARA Asset Management, a real estate fund management company. "ARA Group stands to benefit from long-term market trends in the APAC region, such as the surge in demand for new economy real assets. We are very excited about the prospect of working with our new shareholders and hope to expand swiftly on our new partnership with SMBC," Justin Chiu, ARA chairman.