Lender of the Year

1 Huatai International
2 CLSA Capital Partners
3 Metrics Credit Partners

In 2022, Huatai International continued to invest in prominent, proprietary private debt deals with a total size of around $800 million across seven transactions. Amid volatility in the Asian credit markets, Huatai says it has maintained zero losses to date. One key deal was a $400 million senior acquisition financing for the third-largest non-authorised deposit-taking institution in Australia.

Senior Lender of the Year

1 Huatai International
2 Ares SSG
3 MaxCap

 

As well as the Lender of the Year award, Huatai International also picked up the Senior Lender title after a series of deals, including the $400 million senior acquisition financing for the third-largest non-authorised deposit-taking institution in Australia. In second place was Ares SSG, which has one of the largest credit and special situations platforms in Asia-Pacific, with almost $11 billion of direct lending in AUM as of end-September 2022.

Junior Lender of the Year

1 KKR
2 Ares SSG
3 Allianz Global Investors

KKR held a final close for credit fund KKR Asia Credit Opportunities Fund on $1.1 billion. The vehicle will primarily pursue investments in performing privately originated credit, and broadly target opportunities across three primary investment themes: senior and unitranche corporate lending, subordinated corporate lending and asset-based finance investments in Asia-Pacific.

Infrastructure Debt Manager of the Year

1 Ares SSG
2 Pierfront Capital
3 QIC

The acquisition of AMP Capital’s infrastructure debt platform in 2022 gave Ares SSG access to around $8 billion of assets under management with 19 dedicated investment professionals across Singapore, Sydney, London and New York. The newly named Ares Infrastructure Debt Fund V, which had been launched during the stuttering final months of AMP Capital’s infrastructure business, raised another $500 million in Q3, reaching $3.9 billion to date against a $5 billion target.

Real Estate Debt Manager of the Year

1 Huatai International
2 Barings
3 Metrics Credit Partners

One of the most active private credit managers in Asia-Pacific’s debt sector, Huatai International completed transactions with a total deal size of $420 million in 2022. Among these was $150 million in mezzanine debt to fund a high quality, mixed-use commercial complex strategically located in central Shanghai.

Deal of the Year

1 Partners Group (Icon Group)
2 CLSA Capital Partners
3 HPS Investment Partners

Partners Group, on behalf of clients, committed to A$1.1 billion ($767 million; €714 million) first lien/second lien financing to support the acquisition of Icon Group by EQT Infrastructure. Icon Group is a vertically integrated cancer care firm that provides oncology-related treatments and services. The company has a pan-Asian presence and operates more than 49 cancer care centres across Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Vietnam, Hong Kong and mainland China. The second lien was anchored by a group of institutional investors that included Partners Group.

Fundraising of the Year

1 KKR
2 BPEA Investment Managers
3 PAG

KKR held a final close for credit fund KKR Asia Credit Opportunities Fund on $1.1 billion. The vehicle will pursue investments primarily in performing privately originated credit, and broadly target opportunities across three primary investment themes: senior and unitranche corporate lending, subordinated corporate lending and asset-based finance investments in Asia-Pacific.

Investor of the Year

1 AustralianSuper
2 Hostplus
3 National Pension Service of Korea

AustralianSuper broke into the 2022 Global Investor ranking – our measure of the largest allocators to private debt – at number 40. The organisation has a self-proclaimed ambition to ramp up in private debt, with a target of tripling its investment portfolio value over a three-year period. This has seen AusSuper go on something of a hiring spree for its teams around the world.

Law Firm of the Year

1 Kirkland & Ellis
2 Dechert
3 Ashurst

Kirkland & Ellis advised a long roster of Asia-Pacific clients in 2022, including Ares SSG Capital Management on the final closing of Ares SSG Secured Lending Opportunities III, with capital commitments of more than $1.6 billion. This represented an increase of nearly 100 percent on the size of the prior fund. The vehicle is the third from Ares SSG to target secured lending investments in Asia.

Advisory and Placement Agent of the Year

1 Evercore Private Funds Group
2 Asante Capital Group
3 Axius Partners

During 2022, Evercore Private Funds Group held a final close on OCP Asia Opportunities Fund I, an Asian secured direct lending fund, on $112 million. The capital was raised from a diverse group of institutional investors globally. OCP Asia Opportunities Fund I marked the third time OCP Asia has worked with Evercore PFG.

Responsible Investor of the Year

1 Pierfront Capital
2 Ares SSG
3 PAG

Following Pierfront Capital’s adoption of an ESG policy and two years after it first commenced ESG formalisation efforts, 2022 marked its inaugural annual ESG Report, for full year 2021. In addition, the firm committed about $230 million of capital to six new private credit investments through the course of 2022, taking in various sectors including renewables and social infrastructure.