BlackRock, Aimco back US$800 million Asia infrastructure fund

AN ASIA-focused infrastructure fund has raised US$800 million from investors including funds managed by BlackRock and pension manager Alberta Investment Management, amid renewed interest in the asset class.

Set up by a small Singapore-based private equity firm in 2021, Seraya Partners Fund I has closed above its US$750 million target, a statement showed on Tuesday (Dec 12). Other investors include insurers, European family offices and sovereign wealth funds from Singapore, South Korea and North America, said James Chern, its managing partner and chief investment officer.

Investors are attracted to the region despite risks like geopolitical tensions as infrastructure deals are trading at about half of US and European valuations, Chern said. “That’s money on the table,” he said, adding the fund has earned a gross percentage return in “the low 20s” so far.

Seraya Partners, which has about 20 staff, is not alone in an area increasingly favoured by major investors seeking stability in a time of increased market volatility and high inflation. Singapore wealth fund GIC has grown its global infrastructure team to about 70. KKR & Co raised about US$5.7 billion for its second Asia-Pacific infrastructure fund last year, and Bloomberg News reported in October that Macquarie Asset Management is seeking to raise US$4 billion for a new fund with a similar focus.

Chern, an ex-Morgan Stanley banker, still sees a “golden period” of at least a decade with “minimal opposition”, noting there’s just a handful of infrastructure-focused funds in the region, compared to hundreds of its peers focused on areas such as property and venture capital. “We are in the same space as real estate and PE funds were 20 years ago in Asia.” BLOOMBERG