The Allianz Asia Pacific Secured Lending Fund (AAPSL), through which large investors can invest in loans jointly with Allianz in the Asia-Pacific region for the first time, recorded its first close at around half a billion US dollars.
© Matthieu / stock.adobe.com
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Institutional investors seem to be very interested in lending in Asia, as the successful marketing of the new Allianz Asia Pacific Secured Lending Fund (AAPSL) shows. The vehicle for institutional clients holds its first closing at US$476 million (approx. EUR 450 million) and for the first time allows professional investors to invest in diversified investment opportunities in the Asia-Pacific region, which are not linked to public investors markets are correlated
The investment focus of AllianzGI’s first private credit fund in Asia-Pacific is on high-growth companies with a solid market position that aim to benefit from increasing underlying demand in Asia. The fund is expected to reach its final close by the end of this year. The target volume is 700 million US dollars (approx. 650 million EUR), as AGI writes in its press release.
Important pillar
Emmanuel Deblanc, Global Head of Private Markets at AllianzGI, said: “Allianz is one of the largest private debt investors in the world. Private debt has grown in popularity significantly over the past decade and has weathered the recent series of market volatility quite well. Private debt will continue to play a critical role in institutional investors’ portfolios and is a key pillar of AllianzGI’s private markets solutions. We see enormous growth potential, especially for the Asian credit markets, which offers our institutional clients convincing opportunities.”
Strategy details
The AAPSL invests in senior secured, senior unsecured, second secured and subordinated debt of well diversified companies across a broad range of industries in Asia Pacific (excluding China), with Southeast Asia, South Asia and Oceania forming the three core regions of the strategy. The AAPSL primarily targets investments in companies that have demonstrated resilience through economic cycles (e.g., telecom towers, pharmaceuticals, data centers) or that are poised to recover significantly after periods of stress (healthcare, education, enterprise software, etc .).
About management
Sumit Bhandari, Lead Portfolio Manager, Asia Private Credit, at AllianzGI added: “We have built a significant private credit business across the Asia Pacific region. Our ability to originate loans across diverse capital structures makes us a primary point of contact for borrowers looking for tailored financing solutions. Despite the current geopolitical environment, we believe the Asian credit market is extremely attractive from a risk and reward perspective. We are delighted with the worldwide support for this strategy from our institutional clients in order to give them access to this attractive market.”
The AAPSL is administered by AllianzGI’s Asia Private Credit Team. This team, led by Sumit Bhandari, was formed in 2018 to capitalize on Asia Pacific middle market financing opportunities and focuses on lending to high-performing middle market companies across the full capital structure and risk breadth. To date, the team has provided more than US$500 million (approx. EUR 470 million) in secured financing solutions. (aa)
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