Singapore-based CapitaLand said on Wednesday that it has established a $1 billion private equity (PE) fund in China, named Raffles City China Fund.

The fund will invest in prime mixed-use commercial properties in key gateway cities in China, it said.

CapitaLand, the biggest property developer in China, said it will inject four of its commercial properties including Raffles City Shanghai, Raffles City Beijing, Raffles City Chengdu and Raffles City Hangzhou into the fund. The assets are valued at $2 billion.

As the fund's sponsor, the company said it has taken a 50 percent stake in Raffles City China, while the remaining stake were taken up by financial institutions and pension funds from Asia, Europe and North America.

Raffles City China has the option to increase its fund size to $1.3 billion. In the event of strong demand for the fund, CapitaLand said it may reduce its stake to 45 percent.