Oaktree Capital Management has hired Roger Zhang to spearhead a new Asia-Pacific private credit strategy, marking an expansion of the firm’s regional platform into performing credit, according to a report by Bloomberg.
The report cites unnamed people familiar with the matter as revealing that Zhang, who is based in Singapore, will join in Q4 from multi-asset investment platform Granite Asia, where he was a partner. The new strategy will focus on private lending opportunities across the region, targeting returns in the high-single digits to low-teens.
The move adds to Oaktree’s existing opportunistic credit business in Asia, which typically pursues deals offering higher expected returns in the mid-teens. Together, the two platforms will give investors a broader risk-return spectrum in private credit across the region.
Zhang brings extensive experience to the role. Before Granite, he was a managing director at Blackstone, covering origination and execution of Asian credit investments, and earlier led private debt for Asia-Pacific at Partners Group.
