Swiss infrastructure fund manager SUSI Partners has reached a first close at $81 million for its Asia Energy Transition Fund (SAETF), which will focus on investments in Southeast Asia.
The fund has attracted commitments from development finance institutions (DFIs) including the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Dutch development bank FMO, as well as Nordic DFIs Norfund and Swedfund. Private institutional investors from Germany and Singapore also participated in the first close, according to a statement.
“With several DFIs in the mix, we have gained access to a group of investors that will play a crucial role in catalysing responsible private capital flows to emerging market economies,” says Marius Dorfmeister, co-CEO and global head of clients at SUSI Partners.
“By bringing together public and private investors, we are combining best practices to accelerate the build-out of sustainable energy infrastructure in a region that will be a crucial factor in achieving global climate targets,” he added.
SAETF will prioritise Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines as its focus markets, followed by Malaysia, Cambodia and Laos. The fund activities are led by SUSI Partners’ local team in Singapore.
The fund will invest across clean power generation, energy efficiency, and solutions enabling clean energy use such as energy storage and microgrids, the firm said.
Southeast Asia has been recording continuously increasing emission levels, SUSI Partners said, predicting that the trend will continue, due to the region’s strong GDP growth and population dynamics that drive energy demand.
“Growing energy demand, the urgent energy transition and the resulting need for capital in the clean energy infrastructure space make Southeast Asia an attractive market for investors,” commented Marco van Daele, co-CEO and chief investment officer of SUSI Partners.
All investments by SAETF will be in alignment with SUSI’s internal sustainable investing requirements, as well as International Finance Corporation’s performance standards and World Bank Group’s environmental, health and safety (EHS) guidelines.
SUSI Partners manages 1.6 billion euros in investor commitments across seven institutional funds focused on the energy transition spectrum, including clean energy generation, energy efficiency measures, and energy storage and integrated solutions.
The firm has made more than 100 investments across 20 different countries to date.