The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank’s (AIIB) Board of Directors has approved an investment of US$75 million into the Asia Investment Fund (AIF), a closed-end private equity fund established in Hong Kong that focuses on telecommunication, transportation and energy.
The investment aims to mobilize private capital for infrastructure and other productive sectors by investing in minority equity stakes in Asian companies via a private equity fund. The AIF’s target size is US$3 billion with a 10-year term from the final closing date.
“With this investment, AIIB will be able to construct a well-diversified equity portfolio across AIIB members,” says AIIB vice president and chief investment officer D.J. Pandian. “This aligns well with AIIB’s Strategy on Investing in Equity. Participating in the AIF will progressively develop our equity capacity while benefiting from a market risk-adjusted return for our long-term financial sustainability.”
AIIB currently is the only multilateral investor in the AIF, which pitches to other global institutional investors.
“The investment presents a good opportunity for AIIB to influence positively the investment processes of a sizable fund by contributing to the environmental, social and governance management system of the fund manager,” says AIIB Director General Dong-Ik Lee. “Investing in the AIF also helps us gain access to both debt financing and equity co-investment opportunities with the portfolio companies of the fund.”
The AIF was established with a US$500-million initial commitment from the Ministry of Finance of the People’s Republic of China, investing as a limited partner in the fund.