An investor consortium including affiliates of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Government of Singapore Investment Corporation and China International Capital Corporation have made an investment of USD160m for a significant minority stake in International Far Eastern Leasing Company.
Far Eastern is a provider of financial leasing in China and a subsidiary of Sinochem Group.
The investment will support Far Eastern’s future growth as it moves to capitalise on the attractive potential in the underdeveloped financial leasing space in China.
Sinochem is retaining a controlling stake in Far Eastern.
“We are very excited to have world-class investors, including KKR as the lead investor, together with GIC and CICC, as long-term partners in Far Eastern’s development,” says Kong Fanxing, chief executive officer of Far Eastern. “In addition to capital, their experience investing in and growing financial services businesses globally brings tremendous value to Far Eastern and will enable us to further develop our ability to provide integrated and innovative business services around our core business of financial leasing. This investment will also help support the Shanghai government’s long term goal to develop the city into a global financial and shipping centre.”
Headquartered in Shanghai, Far Eastern targets sectors with stable cash flow and sustainable growth potential, including those in the medical, printing, education, infrastructure construction, shipping and machine tool sectors.
“We are delighted to have the opportunity to invest in Far Eastern, the market leader in the financial leasing industry in China. We have been extremely impressed with the company’s strong track record, outstanding management team, deep customer relationships and a very supportive shareholder, Sinochem,” says David Liu, member of KKR and head of KKR Greater China. “We look forward to fully utilizing our financial services industry expertise and global network to support the company as it continues to grow and develop into a world-class financial institution.”
