Granite Asia seeks middle-market opportunities in Asia private credit

By Rae Wee

SINGAPORE, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Singapore-based Granite Asia is seeking to invest in mid-sized companies in sectors, including advanced manufacturing and healthcare across the region, a senior executive said, after its private credit fund raised over half a billion dollars.

Granite Asia said last month it had raised more than a targeted $500 million for its pan-Asia private credit strategy, Libra Hybrid.

Ming Eng, managing partner at Granite Asia, who leads the firm's private credit strategy, said most of the deals it oversaw were in the middle market, which was "a great space to be in". 

In an interview with Reuters she said these companies had access to banks and potentially to equity, but that they may prefer private credit to diluting their ownership.

"Whether they want to have dilution at that point, that's what is harder for the shareholders or founders to determine, because they are at a good size to be able to grow fast," Eng said.

Referring to the amount raised for Libra Hybrid, she said there was no "hard cap" on the fund size, but the team was now focused on deploying capital rather than raising more.

Since its launch in 2025, Libra Hybrid has completed eight transactions, realised two exits and made distributions to investors. Eng declined to disclose the strategy's exact returns over the last year, but said they were "in the teens".

GROWING OPPORTUNITIES IN ASIA

Institutional investors have increased private credit allocations to Asia, as managers ​expand in a region that is still a small part of the global ‌market.

According to a report by the Alternative Investment Management Association last November, Asia-Pacific's private credit market is projected to grow from $59 billion in 2024 to $92 billion by 2027, led by Australia, India, Japan, and Singapore.

Eng said Granite Asia's private credit strategy is geographically agnostic, but is looking at themes such as digitalisation and technology enablement, businesses seeking to regionalise and supply chain reallocations.

She added that there is still "a pretty strong imbalance" between supply and demand in Asia's private credit market, which remains relatively unpenetrated compared with those in the U.S. and Europe.

"From the Asia perspective, because it is not crowded, everyone can find their own opportunity set that fits into their expertise," she said.

(Reporting by Rae Wee; editing by Barbara Lewis)