Granite Asia has raised more than $500m for its Asia-focused private credit strategy, surpassing the initial fundraising target despite a challenging backdrop for the asset class globally, according to a report by Bloomberg.
The Singapore-based investment firm launched the Libra Hybrid fund in mid-2025 with a $250m first close and an original target of $500m. Backers include Aranda Principal Strategies, a subsidiary of Temasek Holdings, DBS Private Bank, Malaysia’s Khazanah Nasional and the Indonesia Investment Authority.
The strategy is led by Granite Asia managing partner Ming Eng, who said investor demand had exceeded expectations despite the negative sentiment surrounding private credit in the US.
Private credit has not been particularly favoured by investors this year amid concerns over borrower stress and liquidity in parts of the market. The global private credit industry, estimated at about $1.8tn, has faced a series of challenges, including high-profile borrower failures and restrictions on investor redemptions at some large managers.
Moody’s Ratings has also warned that private credit fundraising and deployment across Asia-Pacific could slow, partly as a result of global redemption pressures.
Eng said those concerns had not materially weakened the outlook for private credit in Asia, arguing that much of the capital deployed into the asset class in recent years had been concentrated in the US and Europe.
“Asia is fundamentally different,” she said, adding that investors were increasingly looking at geographic diversification rather than reducing their overall private credit allocations.
Libra Hybrid has completed eight investments since its launch and has already exited two of them. Eng declined to provide performance figures, but said private credit strategies focused on Asia should generally seek returns in the mid-to-high teens.
Some capital has already been returned to investors following exits, while remaining proceeds are being recycled into new investments.
Granite Asia is also seeking to differentiate its strategy from lenders competing primarily on pricing. Eng said the firm was prepared to structure transactions in alternative ways, including financing acquisitions while participating in the subsequent growth in a borrower’s revenues.
