Asia-Pacific

Asia-Pacific direct lending still demands borrower education but exciting new markets are opening up, says Andrew Schantz, a partner in credit and special situations, Hong Kong, at Bain Capital.

Though North America and Western Europe aren’t at risk of losing investors, demand for diversification and spread premiums are moving dollars towards Asia-Pacific.

Asia-Pacific is a structurally promising market where the role of fund administrator is central to scaling private credit, says Christophe Picardel, head of private capital, Asia-Pacific, Securities Services at BNP Paribas.

Asia-Pacific is complex and demands a sophisticated approach to individual markets. But the opportunity has never been better for managers with deep understanding and relationships, says Haseeb Malik, head of Asia Credit at Värde Partners.

Speaking at a PEI Investor Council event in Sydney, the superfunds said their debt portfolios were performing well and that recent high-profile fund redemptions did not change market fundamentals.

The global direct lending platform is comprised of around 10 vehicles across a variety of structures.

Singapore-based partner Audrey The sees fast growth in the investment advisory firm’s wealthy client base in Asia and a continued rise in new allocations to private credit.

Global headlines around US private credit have prompted many investors to ‘look more carefully’ at different market structures, managing director Yasuyuki Fujita tells PDI.

NPS, through a partnership with Townsend, will take its stake in the Australian private debt GP to 9.9 percent, with Pinnacle increasing its share to 35 percent.

Secondaries on the rise, but LPs and GPs don’t always see eye to eye. Also, Pemberton highlights US/Europe disparity over retail and software woes; and private credit deals on the up in Africa. Here’s today’s brief for our valued subscribers only.