August 27, 2015

Singapore-based Lion Global Investors and OCBC Bank have launched the Lion-OCBC Capital Asia Fund I – a new private equity fund created to invest in small and medium sized companies in the agriculture, commodities, and consumer industries in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and China.

The fund, which was created to serve high net worth individuals, institutional investors, regional banks, insurance companies and sovereign wealth funds has been gathering subscriptions since November 2014, but has had to increase in size by almost 40% to US$393 million since then due to strong investor demand.

This venture marks the first time OCBC Bank has created a private equity fund through its mezzanine capital unit, which invests in small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

“We introduced this fund to meet growing interest in alternative assets from our market partners and high net worth customers in Bank of Singapore,” said Daniel Kwan, head of MCU at OCBC Bank.

The introduction of the fund will expand investment opportunities for Lion Capital’s clients who have been expressing greater interest in alternative assets as well.

“In recent years alternative investments have found a growing audience among investors seeking alpha solutions in an uncertain global economic environment,” says Gerard Lee, chief executive of Lion Global Investors.

Singapore-based OCBC Bank has an extensive presence in the four targeted markets for the fund, giving the vehicle a wide range of SMEs to explore and invest in, and the growing trend of Singapore-based companies expanding overseas could also help extend the reach of both company’s interests.