Ares Management, a $596bn asset manager, has appointed former CapitaLand Investment executive, Gabriel Fong, as a partner in its Asia credit business, according to a report by Bloomberg citing people familiar with the matter. Fong has joined the firm as Ares continues to expand its regional credit platform.
Fong will oversee North Asia, including China, Hong Kong and South Korea, and will report to Edwin Wong, head of Asia credit. Dinesh Goel, also a partner, will continue to manage the rest of the region, covering Australia, India, and Southeast Asia.
The appointment follows Ares’s broader Asia-Pacific expansion, which began in 2020. The firm entered Asia’s credit markets with the acquisition of distressed debt investor SSG Capital Holdings and subsequently acquired AMP Capital’s Australia infrastructure debt platform. It has also strengthened its private equity presence in the region through the acquisition of Crescent Point Capital and control of funds previously managed by Northstar Group.
Ares is currently raising a new Asia special situations fund, targeting at least the $2.4bn raised by its predecessor in 2023.
