INVESTMENT group KKR sees growing demand among Asian companies for alternatives to traditional funding sources such as bank lending and equity fundraising.

According to SJ Lim, KKR’s managing director and head of South-east Asia credit, about 80 to 85 per cent of credit in Asia is provided by banks. That is much higher than the ratios of 33 per cent and 50 per cent seen in the United States and Europe, respectively.

“Often times, these companies are underserved by traditional lenders simply because banks are large, so they need to manage their flow when they work on policy manuals and frameworks, and they have a traditional way of doing things that may not always fit the situation,” he said.