ABC World Asia, an impact investment firm set up by Temasek Trust earlier this year, has raised S$385 million (US$282 million) for its inaugural fund.
Apart from Singapore state investment firm Temasek and its the philanthropic arm, Temasek Trust, other investors in the fund include Pavilion Capital, Mapletree Investments, Seatown Holdings and Sembcorp Industries, ABC World Asia said in a statement.
The fund’s investment strategy is aligned with Temasek’s ABC framework for an ‘active economy’, a ‘beautiful society’ and a ‘clean earth’. This builds on the ideals of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals, the statement said.
ABC World will explore investments primarily in China, Southeast Asia and South Asia on themes including financial and digital inclusion, better health and education, climate and water solutions, sustainable food and agriculture, and smart and liveable cities.
“While the industry is still at its early stages of development, we already see a range of opportunities to participate in impact investing across Asia,” said David Heng, CEO at ABC World. “We believe we are well-positioned to identify and invest in good companies that seek to deliver positive impact alongside sustainable financial return.”
Many large PE firms launched impact vehicles this year. In May, Blackstone said it was setting up an impact investment platform to use its 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.
*This article has been modified to correct the amount in the headline and the first paragraph.
