Temasek Trust, the philanthropic arm of Singaporean state investor Temasek Holdings, has set up an Asia-focussed private equity fund called ABC World Asia that will focus on impact investing.
ABC World Asia is backed by Temasek Trust, Temasek Holdings and Singaporean private equity firm Pavilion Capital, according to a statement.
ABC World Asia will invest in companies that demonstrate commitment towards impact, primarily in South Asia, Southeast Asia and China. The fund will focus on themes including financial and digital inclusion; better health and education; climate and water solutions; sustainable food and agriculture; and smart and liveable cities.
“There is scope for impact investing to help bridge the financing gap in support of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which are at the core of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” said Cheo Hock Kuan, chief executive officer of Temasek Trust. “Temasek Trust seeks to play an active role in impact investments through sustainable philanthropy, beyond our usual approach of grant-making.”
Temasek joins a slew of other marquee investors across the globe who are setting up adjacent impact investment platforms.
Last month, the Blackstone group said it was setting up an impact investment platform to leverage the firm's strategic expertise across the private equity, real estate and infrastructure segments by partnering with external impact managers focused on developed markets.
Alternative assets giant KKR also has an impact investment platform which focuses on businesses that make a positive social or environmental impact. Earlier this year, the PE firm and the KKR Global Impact fund jointly invested in environmental services provider Ramky Enviro Engineers Ltd.
US-headquartered TPG Capital was among the first PE firms to launch an impact investment platform -- The Rise Fund -- in 2016.
“The complex social and environmental challenges in our region present the potential for investors to achieve substantial impact,” said David Heng, chief executive officer of ABC World Asia. “With the impact investing industry still in its infancy, particularly in Asia, we are excited by the prospect of establishing impact investing as a critical lever for sustainability.”