IFC-backed fund manager eyes Philippine digital infra, renewable energy investments
A Singapore-headquartered fund manager is seeking a $25-million equity investment from the World Bank Group’s (WBG) International Finance Corp. (IFC) for its new infrastructure fund to be deployed in Southeast Asia, including the Philippines.
In an Oct. 2 disclosure, IFC, the WBG’s private-sector lending arm, said its upcoming investment in Asia-focused Seraya Partners Fund II (SEA) LP is scheduled for approval by its Washington-based board on Nov. 6.
“The fund will invest in the energy transition and digital infrastructure sectors via two separate Developed Asia (DA) and Southeast Asia (SEA) sleeves. The DA sleeve will invest in developed countries in Asia, [such as] Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, and South Korea. The SEA sleeve will invest in emerging markets (EMs) in Southeast Asia, [such as] Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam,” the IFC disclosure said.
IFC’s investment will go to the SEA sleeve and will form part of the $1 billion to $1.5 billion that the fund plans to raise overall.
“The fund’s SEA sleeve aims to increase access to quality infrastructure in Southeast Asia to address significant gaps in infrastructure in EMs. In this context, the fund will invest in platforms across Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia across core sectors of digital infrastructure and energy transition,” said IFC.
“In addition to strengthening the infrastructure equity market in EMs, the fund’s success will demonstrate the commercial viability of the equity fund model and open new pathways for institutional investors to invest in the region,” it added.
Specific equity investments will be in dedicated Southeast Asian platforms involved in battery storage systems, data centers, fiber networks, smart grids, as well as solar and wind power projects, IFC said.
The fund’s development results will be measured by data center capacity in total megawatts (MW) and renewable energy (RE) generation in total gigawatt-hours (GWh).
This fund will be managed by Singapore-based Seraya Management Pte. Ltd., a five-year-old fund manager with offices in Kuala Lumpur, Seoul, and Tokyo.
IFC said its anchor equity investment will be crucial in securing Seraya’s first EMs-focused fund close by attracting additional investors, addressing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) concerns, and ensuring the fund adopts IFC’s ESG standards and best practices.