By Nick Hedley
Macquarie Asset Management has secured US$4.2 billion for
its third Asia-Pacific infrastructure fund – significantly exceeding its $3
billion target.
Launched in 2020 and closed this week, the Macquarie
Asia-Pacific Infrastructure Fund 3 brings total capital managed under the firm’s
Asia-Pacific infrastructure series to $15 billion.
The fund received commitments from “a diverse range of
returning and new institutional investors from around the world,” including
pension funds, insurance companies and sovereign wealth funds, Macquarie said. Roughly
40% of the limited partnership (LP) investors were from the Asia-Pacific
region, with European and North American investors making up most of the
balance, Macquarie told Markets Group.
The fund has already committed more than $2.4 billion, with
an additional $3 billion in co-investments, towards seven investments – in
telecommunications, renewable energy and other sectors.
The investments include Bohao Internet Data Services and
Metcold Supply Networks in China, renewables-focused Summit Energy Alliance in
South Korea, Bersama Digital Infrastructure in Indonesia, Vocus Group and Bingo
Industries in Australia, and 2degrees in New Zealand.
“The infrastructure markets across Asia-Pacific have been
maturing at a particularly fast rate, and our clients continue to value the
investment merits brought by infrastructure,” said Frank Kwok, head of
Macquarie Asset Management’s Real Assets business in Asia-Pacific. “We are also
pleased to see a diverse and international investor base as the asset class
matures.”
Verena Lim, head of investments for the Macquarie
Asia-Pacific Infrastructure Fund series, said the investable landscape “has
broadened materially.”
New opportunities are arising thanks to digitization,
decarbonization and sustainability, and “the positive long-term outlook” for
the region will continue to drive demand for high-quality infrastructure, Lim
said.
Macquarie’s global infrastructure assets under management were
A$197 billion (US$141 billion) at the end of March. The firm has raised US$41
billion for global infrastructure investments over the past three years.
