US public pension fund, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF), will invest $100 million in Blackstone‘s second multi-billion Asia-focused real estate fund that may be launched this year or early next year. Asset manager Blackstone is looking to raise over $5 billion for its second region-specific realty fund after the success of its first Asia-focused property fund that had raised $5.08 billion. It is reported that Blackstone has already invested over 70 per cent from the first fund.