The opportunities in Asia-Pacific private credit
Key takeaways
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Asia-Pacific private credit is at an inflection point, with the market growing nearly fourfold from a low base over the past 15 years.
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Regional growth expected to outpace other developed economies and structural financing gaps may create sustained demand, offering potential opportunities for investors wishing to geographically diversify their exposure.
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The region accounts for a disproportionate share of global GDP growth, but remains significantly underrepresented in global portfolios.
Amid public market volatility, thematic shifts in capital allocation favouring lower-volatility assets and an increasing focus on diversification, the next chapter of private credit is being written, not in New York or London but across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region.
The size of the private credit market in APAC has increased nearly fourfold in the last 15 years, with assets more recently standing at US$59 billion in 2024 and expected to exceed US$91 billion by 2027 – equivalent to annual growth of 16% over three years[1]. The growth projections may be eye-catching, but more important is the opportunity this growth represents. Compared to the mature markets in the US and European Union, private credit penetration in APAC remains woefully low. Additionally, we believe that traditional bank lending, while still the dominant way for companies to access loans, is restrictive and inefficiently allocates capital. Continued growth in APAC private credit as seen in recent years could see it becoming an essential capital source for fuelling further economic growth – marking an inflection point. It is arguably an increasingly compelling asset class with a promising outlook, one that can bring key structural benefits to global portfolios.
Read paperThe Private Credit Opportunity
Hiran Wanigasekera, Co-Head of Diversified Credit, and Alex Joiner, Chief Economist, unpack the macro landscape and discuss what makes private debt a compelling allocation in today’s uncertain environment.
Our strategic approach
Diverse insight and experience
Targeting risk-adjusted value
Diligence and vigilance
Our strategies
By investing in a broad range of credit opportunities, we seek to provide access to a highly diversified pool of debt assets that spans both the public and private markets and can potentially deliver a premium to traditional fixed interest. We seek to exploit market opportunities and allocate to less understood market segments, taking advantage of mispriced credit and liquidity risk.
We offer traditional direct lending and private credit strategies that aim to generate high income-based returns with low volatility by lending to a diverse range of sub-investment grade borrowers across the Asia-Pacific region. We target lending to mid-market corporate, asset-backed and real asset debt, aiming to provide access to opportunities that are not accessible through public fixed interest markets.
We aim to generate strong risk-adjusted returns by allocating to specialty finance opportunities in consumer, micro small business credit, asset-based lending, trade finance and cashflow monetisation, aircraft, shipping and other equipment leasing opportunities combined with complex structuring to manage credit and liquidity risk.
Highly opportunistic approach to credit investing that seeks to capture strong risk adjusted returns available from lending to high yield and speculative grade borrowers. Our approach seeks to fill capital and funding gaps that develop as a result of macro-economic shocks, evolving industry and market dynamics or idiosyncratic issues specific to a borrower or project. We aim to provide debt-based capital solution via highly flexible structures to borrowers facing expansionary or contractionary situations. Borrowers with strong long-term fundamentals can benefit from funding stability and certainty that is less dilutive than equity capital.
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