Granite Asia raises US$350mil for fund backed by Temasek, Khazanah, INA

SINGAPORE: Granite Asia, a Singapore-based investment firm, said on Tuesday that it had raised more than US$350 million in the first close of its Pan-Asia private credit fund, anchored by Southeast Asian state investors Temasek, Khazanah Nasional and the Indonesia Investment Authority (INA).

The strategy, called Libra Hybrid, is targeting US$500 million in total commitments and drew capital from global institutions including sovereign wealth funds and Granite Asia’s partners, Granite Asia said in a statement.

Singapore state investor Temasek invested through its private credit platform, Aranda Principal Strategies, according to the statement. Khazanah is Malaysia’s sovereign investor while INA is Indonesia’s sovereign wealth fund.

About 30% of the capital has already been deployed across six transactions, Granite Asia added.

Asia’s private credit market is projected to grow 46% to US$92 billion by 2027, outpacing global averages, despite challenges such as fragmented regulations and currency risk, according to a report by the Alternative Investment Management Association, Simmons & Simmons, EY and Broadridge.

“We’re seeing strong demand for private credit from companies undergoing transformative growth – redesigning supply chains, expanding into new markets, or modernising through technology,” said Ming Eng, Granite Asia’s managing partner who leads the firm’s private credit strategy.

Granite Asia, formerly known as GGV Capital Asia, was created after GGV split its Asia and US businesses in 2023 following a review by US authorities over its funding of Chinese technology companies.

Last year, Granite Asia partnered with INA to launch a US$1.2 billion investment plan targeting Indonesia’s technology sector, and in March it teamed up with Japan’s Integral to establish a US$100 million joint venture.

The firm manages about US$6 billion across venture, growth and credit strategies and has investments in 57 companies with valuations exceeding US$1 billion and has facilitated 33 IPOs, according to its statement.