Granite Asia's first private credit fund hits US$250 million at first close
In a press release on Thursday (May 8), the multi-asset platform said that anchor investors include top Asian sovereign wealth funds, as well as Granite Asia's general partners and its network of founders and entrepreneurs. The fund has a US$500 million target and has raised over half its targeted amount.
Ming Eng and Roger Zhang, partners, credit strategy at Granite Asia will lead the Libra Hybrid Capital Fund.
The fund's key strategy is to offer secure loans to mid-market companies in Asia-Pacific as they scale regionally and globally. These are established businesses that are profitable or with positive cash flow with room to grow.
'It's all about scaling up the companies in this region,' Ming told The Business Times.
Key sectors that the private credit fund will target are in consumer, business services, advanced manufacturing automation, energy transition and healthcare sectors. Granite Asia will bring the same technological and operating expertise to bear for the companies it provides debt financing as it does equity financing.
BT in your inbox
Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.
Sign Up
Sign Up
For instance, after a company has established its business in a new market, Granite Asia can help it expand by working with local financial institutions to set it up with more financing. Furthermore, this would provide an exit for the fund, which can then move on to other companies.
'Most of the time, borrowers see us as not only a capital provider, but also as a good partner to help them grow to the next level,' said Zhang.
The high investor interest in the private credit fund is a reflection of Asia's status as a growth market. Unlike more mature private credit markets where returns are in the single digits, Asia has been delivering double-digit returns as companies here grow much faster.
Even as the Federal Reserve interest rates come off a high, Asia will still provide double-digit returns, as regional companies considering private credit aim to grow at a pace exceeding the cost of capital. Investors in the Libra Hybrid Capital Fund are looking for more than just diversification.
'We do see a strong shift of mindset and capital, not only for diversification, I think people are recognising the growth,' said Ming.
The fund is riding the rise of regional capital supporting mid-market companies navigating uncertainties and global capital seeking exposure to Asian growth markets.
The deal pipeline for the fund is helped by strong market demand due to Asia being underserved by private credit. The Libra Hybrid Credit Fund has closed a few deals, with others in advanced stages.
Likening financing options to menu options at a restaurant that previously only offered pizza, the addition of a pasta offering would draw customers wanting to try the new option.
'The Asian market is an equity market in a way, but now with the growth of the private-credit market, it offers an attractive solution to a lot of companies that are looking for non-dilutive capital to fund their growth,' said Zhang.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Times
29 minutes ago
- Business Times
Apollo seeks to double India assets to US$4 billion in credit boom
[MUMBAI] Apollo Global Management plans to double its assets under management in India to US$4 billion over the next three years, as it looks to capitalise on the booming private credit market, an opening also attracting other global giants. 'India is a big opportunity for global private credit funds like us as traditional banks cannot fund the entire economic growth story,' Matthew Michelini, head of Apollo's Asia-Pacific business, said. The New York-based asset manager, which has about US$2 billion assets in India, mainly in private credit, is targeting sectors including infrastructure, financial services, leading industrials and supply chain finance. Local firms are also tapping it to help finance overseas acquisitions, Singapore-based Michelini said. While the potential is huge in the world's fastest-growing major economy, as mainstay lenders and non-bank firms scale back funding due to tougher regulation, competition for both deals and talent is intensifying. Investors such as Cerberus Capital Management, Davidson Kempner Capital Management, and Ares Management are expanding rapidly in India. At the same time, the sizzling market is raising concerns about the potential weakening of lending standards. Some asset managers, including KKR, previously faced challenges during the shadow-banking crisis that rippled through India's financial system before the Covid-19 pandemic. Apollo, which had US$840 billion of global assets under management by the end of June, plans to double its investment headcount in India to about 50 over the next three years, focusing mainly on expanding its credit and supply-chain finance groups. 'We need this team to help analyse local business models, provide local India market context, and maintain day-to-day relationships with our investment partners,' Michelini said. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up He said that the alternative asset manager expects the vast majority of its investments in the country to be focused on credit and senior equity as deals pick up. Underscoring the boom, Indian real estate and construction conglomerate Shapoorji Pallonji Group completed a US$3.4 billion private financing in May, the largest ever in India, led by a long line-up of foreign investors. Overall, bank lending to the non-banking finance sector in India grew just 6.7 per cent in 2024, down from 15 per cent in 2023, the slowest pace in four years, according to a March report by PwC. The ratio of risk-weighted assets to total assets for banks fell from 74 per cent to 58 per cent over the 10 years to December 2023, highlighting an opportunity for alternative lenders to finance lower-rated corporates and mid-sized borrowers, it said. The domestic private credit industry has also been boosted by a US$1 trillion government infrastructure push over the past five years. 'Infrastructure is super interesting in India that will yield several lending opportunities,' Michelini said. Apollo led a US$750 million debt refinancing for conglomerate Adani Group's Mumbai international airport from investors in June, besides backing the likes of JSW Cement and Hero FinCorp. Like many other international firms, Apollo also relies on its Mumbai-based staff of about 800 to cater to an array of global functions such as technology, investment support and operations. In terms of employment, India is Apollo's second-largest country where it opened a new office spanning 88,000 square feet over multiple floors in late 2022 in the financial capital. Overall, the firm employs about 1,000 people across Asia-Pacific. However, despite the growth potential in the market, Michelini cautioned that there was still an element of resistance over the entry of foreign capital. 'Rather than restricting non-bank capital, we believe policymakers would benefit from bringing more of it into the system,' he said. BLOOMBERG
Singapore Law Watch
an hour ago
- Singapore Law Watch
Fighting over $3m some 15 years after couple split
Fighting over $3m some 15 years after couple split Source: Straits Times Article Date: 20 Aug 2025 Author: Tan Ooi Boon If there is a lesson in this case, it is that spouses should always be upfront with each other when things go wrong so that they avoid prolonging the pain and incurring more legal costs. It was a case of better late than never for a woman who discovered that her crafty ex-husband had hidden around $3 million from the asset split when they divorced 15 years earlier. The ex-wife now wants her rightful share of the hidden stash, estimated at $1.4 million as she claims she was entitled to 44.5 per cent of their overall matrimonial assets. The couple had agreed to split their asets worth $4.5 million when their marriage ended in 2010 with a 'consent order' that awarded the woman $2 million, or 44.5 per cent. All was well for a decade until the parties clashed over the amount of maintenance the ex-husband should pay for their two children. He had asked a court to reduce the sum from about $5,800 a month to $2,500 but blundered by inadvertently talking about a foreign bank account that was not disclosed in their past dealings. With the cat out of the bag, the ex-wife engaged a financial sleuth to look into that account. The 'forensic investigative report' that followed revealed that there was a balance of about US$1.9 million around the time when they split. Further checks also uncovered that the ex-husband had a stake of US$800,000 in a company that was also not disclosed during their divorce settlement. This meant the couple should have been looking at an asset division of $7.7 million instead of $4.5 million. Disclosure is mandatory Cases like this highlight the risk of one party hiding assets whenever couples make decisions without any inquiry or a court order for a full and frank disclosure of just what each party owns. In this case, the husband's lawyer argued that a full disclosure might not be mandatory for all negotiations for divorce settlements, especially when couples were in touch directly. For instance, spouses might sometimes agree to divide the matrimonial home and retain any assets held in their sole names without disclosing the full list of all assets. In this case, when the wife said she would accept $2 million in full settlement, the husband actually replied that he would only accept this proposal 'under protest' pending a 'global settlement of all the ancillary matters'. If he had dishonestly concealed his assets, his lawyer said, he would have immediately accepted the offer without any condition. Moreover, he would also not have asked for more time to pay as this could risk scuttling a settlement that was in his favour. But High Court Judge Choo Han Teck did not buy the argument because the responsibility of full and frank disclosure applies not only to contested divorces but also to exchanges of information between parties and their lawyers. After all, the outcome of such negotiations is still subject to the court's approval. If the husband had been forthright from the start by disclosing all his assets while asserting that he would be willing to divide only some of them, he would have avoided the current dispute, the judge added. Hiding assets from ex-spouse The husband claimed that the disputed sum was not relevant to the divorce because the funds were loans from his former business partner who later died. He added that his then wife knew about this and the late partner's relatives were willing to waive the loans in exchange for help in procuring certain assets. He added that the documents did not reveal any fraud and that he never told his ex-wife during their negotiations that he had disclosed all his assets then. But Justice Choo noted that the husband's conduct revealed 'a pattern of deliberate concealment rather than mere oversight'. For instance, he first claimed that the money in the bank account originated from the sale of stock options but later changed this story to claim the funds were loans for investments that were subsequently waived. 'His inconsistent narratives suggest an attempt to conceal his assets rather than a genuine explanation for their non-disclosure,' Justice Choo added. Similarly, the husband was not justified in giving a false statement to claim that his undisclosed company was registered in 2018, when the evidence showed that he had owned it since 2004. 'Such a significant misrepresentation about a company he owned for two decades cannot be an innocuous error,' Justice Choo added. Effect of non-disclosure If the wife knew from the start that her ex-husband had stashed away assets but chose to accept a fixed settlement sum of $2 million, she would not be permitted to renege on the deal based on the fraudulent non-disclosure. Justice Choo noted that the wife probably knew her ex-husband might have other assets since she knew that he 'came from money' and owned shares in the family company. Yet, she never asked to include those assets in the joint asset list during their negotiations. But the million-dollar question has yet to be answered: Would the parties have been able to reach a deal if all the assets were on the table then and, if so, would the wife have still been able to get 44.5 per cent of the total pool of matrimonial assets? Justice Choo noted that even if he had found that the hidden assets should have been considered in the split, the solution cannot be to retrospectively increase the pool of matrimonial assets and award the wife 44.5 per cent of the undisclosed sum. In past cases, the courts had used such a 'quantification approach' to increase the shares for spouses during ongoing hearings when there was evidence of non-disclosure. But the judge said that this approach could not be used in this case because the terms of the deal were agreed upon 15 years ago, and the wife had also received the $2 million settlement sum. So there was no legal basis to allow her to keep this sum and simultaneously receive an additional award based on the undisclosed assets. The wife cannot have her cake and eat it too because the rule that 'fraud unravels all' means that once fraud is established, the settlement deal must be set aside entirely, and not partially varied. In the end, the court did not make a ruling on the hidden stash because both sides would need to present fresh arguments for it. What this means is that with more money on the table now, both sides must decide whether they should start a new court action or reach a new settlement on the division of their matrimonial assets. If there is a lesson in this case, it is that spouses should always be upfront with each other when things go wrong so that they avoid prolonging the pain and incurring more legal costs. After all, some secrets can't stay hidden forever and if it happens like in this case, the parties have to relive the nightmare of fighting with each other again. Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction. Print
Business Times
an hour ago
- Business Times
Ex-Goldman trader Qin Xiao starts Singapore hedge fund, gets US$1 billion allocation from Millennium
[LONDON] Qin Xiao, the former co-head of Goldman Sachs' global commodities trading team, has won an allocation from Millennium Management for his hedge fund startup. Singapore-based Nexus Commodities Capital Management plans to start trading later this year with about US$1 billion from Millennium and additional cash from other investors, according to sources familiar with the matter. Qin will run a separately managed account for Millennium on a non-exclusive basis, the sources said, asking not to be identified discussing private information. Known to colleagues as QX, Qin joins a growing cohort of big-name traders winning allocations from multi-strategy hedge funds looking for ways to deploy their soaring assets. Millennium is among the most aggressive with recent external allocations to people, including Ravi Naresh, who previously managed money for Marshall Wace, and Thomas Wong's hedge fund firm Optimas Capital Management. Nexus Commodities' kick-off is a rare win in Asia's hedge funds startup scene this year, as fledgling managers are struggling to attract North American institutional investors amid geopolitical tensions. A graduate of China's prestigious Tsinghua University and the National University of Singapore, Qin oversaw some of Goldman Sachs' most profitable commodity trading businesses after the pandemic, as the firm capitalised on increased volatility. He was at the bank for more than two decades before departing. Qin and Nitin Jindal were named co-heads of Goldman Sachs's commodities trading business when its former leader Ed Emerson stepped down in late 2023. Qin had previously helmed commodities trading in Asia and in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. He and Anthony Dewell positioned their desks with foresight ahead of the Covid-19 era oil price collapse, securing substantial gains for the firm. Dewell is now global head of commodities at Millennium. The investment team Qin has assembled for his own firm includes Mark Ma, a former head of Asia bulk commodity trading at Goldman Sachs, according to two of the sources. Wang Yang, previously a Shanghai-based commodities trader at the Wall Street bank, is also poised to join, one of the sources added. Ma and a representative for Millennium declined to comment. Qin and Wang did not reply to requests for comment. BLOOMBERG
