Singapore-based asset manager Keppel Ltd has secured US$300 million in committed capital at the first close of Keppel Private Credit Fund III. The fund was launched earlier this year with a target fund size of US$1 billion.

Fund III has attracted capital commitments from top-tier global institutional investors, with Keppel, as the sponsor, committing US$100 million.

The fund provides loans to companies with defensive infrastructure-like operating businesses, across a wide range of real asset sectors in Asia-Pacific, including renewable energy, transportation, telecommunications, logistics, social infrastructure and other core infrastructure.

Representing the third vintage of Keppel’s private credit strategy, Fund III builds on the successful track record of its prior funds in the series – Pierfront Capital Mezzanine Fund (Fund I) and Keppel-Pierfront Private Credit Fund (Fund II).

These first two funds have committed over US$820 million in nearly 30 investments and have exited from half of these investments, which have delivered attractive risk-adjusted returns of low- to mid-teens in US dollar terms.

Commenting on the first close of Fund III, Christina Tan, CEO of fund management and chief investment officer at Keppel, says: “The top-tier investors we have attracted are a strong endorsement of the institutional quality of our platform – one that is supported by Keppel’s extensive networks and in-depth operating experience in areas such as renewable energy and core infrastructure which are part of Fund III’s sectors of focus. We are confident that Keppel will continue to deliver attractive risk-adjusted returns with downside protection to our investors.”

Stephane Delatte, CEO and chief investment officer of Keppel Credit Fund Management, the manager of Keppel’s private credit funds, highlights the continued strong growth of private credit assets under management in Asia-Pacific, which have quadrupled over the past decade, reaching US$124 billion last year, yet representing only about 6% of the total global private credit market.

“Given that the Asia-Pacific region is expected to contribute over 60% of global GDP growth over the next decade, there are considerable opportunities for its private credit market to expand,” Delatte notes. “Our differentiated investment strategy of offering bespoke financing solutions to businesses focused on infrastructure-related sectors places us in good stead to ride on the tailwinds of the strong, sustained demand for infrastructure developments in the region.”