Masataka Miyazono, the 72-year-old former president of Japan's Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF), has joined real estate developer Hulic as an adviser. The company plans to invest ¥700 billion ($4.4 billion) by 2029 to diversify beyond real estate, focusing on agriculture to address sector challenges like aging and depopulation.
When Masataka Miyazono stepped down as president of the Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF), one of the world's largest pension funds managing around $2 trillion, he opted for an unexpected path. Instead of typical financial roles, the 72-year-old joined Hulic, a major Japanese developer, as an adviser last year to guide investments in agriculture.
Hulic is diversifying its business beyond real estate with a ¥700 billion ($4.4 billion) investment plan through 2029. The company is expanding into farming, cultivating tomatoes and strawberries in Japan and chrysanthemum flowers in Vietnam. It intends to offer financing to producers and assist elderly farmers in finding successors, tackling the sector's aging workforce and depopulation issues.
Miyazono's role focuses on boosting productivity and sustainability in Japanese agriculture. His expertise from managing GPIF's vast assets will help direct these efforts, providing a fresh perspective to a vital but challenged industry.
