KKR announced this week the final close of its KKR Asia Pacific Infrastructure Investors fund. The fund closed at its hard cap of $3.9 billion fund, with KRR investing approximately $300m alongside external investors.
As the name suggests the fund will focus on infrastructure-related investments across Asia Pacific.
“We believe that Asia Pacific contains some of the most favourable macroeconomic dynamics in the world, and that the region is expected to account for more than half of the world’s economic growth in the coming years,” said Ming Lu, Head of KKR Asia Pacific.
“However, the demand to develop or upgrade critical infrastructure assets outpaces the available public funding in many markets. Private capital is playing an increasingly important role to fill the gap in the region, and through our new fund, KKR is committed to investing in essential infrastructure solutions over a long-term horizon.”
The fund has a broad investment mandate across both emerging and developed Asia Pacific, in sectors, including waste, renewables, power and utilities, telecommunications and transportation infrastructure.
The $3.9bn close makes this largest infrastructure fund to have been raised in Asia Pacific, with KKR having high expectations for future infrastructure deal flow in the region.
KKR reported that the fund was significantly oversubscribed, receiving strong backing from a diverse group of prominent global infrastructure investors, including public and corporate pensions, sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, endowments, private banking platforms, family offices and high net worth individual investors.
“We are grateful for the confidence investors have placed in our Asia Pacific infrastructure strategy and talented team as they look for investments that can deliver stable capital appreciation in today’s volatile environment,” said Alisa Amarosa Wood, Head of KKR’s Private Markets Strategies Group.
KKR established its global infrastructure team and strategy in 2008. Since then the firm has deployed more than $24bn across approximately 40 infrastructure investments, and currently has a team of approximately 45 investment professionals focused on the sector.
In Asia, KKR has committed $1.8bn across six investments as part of the firm’s dedicated Asia Pacific infrastructure strategy, which was launched in 2019. KKR’s Asia Pacific infrastructure portfolio includes Grid Trust, India’s leading infrastructure investment trust; Virescent Infrastructure, a renewable energy company in India; Eco Solutions Group, a leading environmental services provider in South Korea; First Gen, a leading Philippines power producer; TSK Corporation, an environmental services management company in South Korea; and Pinnacle Towers, a leading telecommunications infrastructure provider in the Philippines.
