Chart of the Week: Asian LPs Segmentation

Infrastructure Investor’s Research & Analytics team monitors infrastructure fund investors’ activities around the world. In Asia-Pacific region, the largest investor group is Pension/Superannuation, accounting for 27% of the total. 85% of these pension fund investors we currently profile are headquartered in Australia/New Zealand. On January 2014, LGsuper and Qantas Superannuation have both committed to an investment platform focused on the development of utility-scale solar plants across Japan, led by Partners Group and Equis Funds Group. On March 2014, New Zealand Superannuation Fund has committed $75 million into KKR Energy Income and Growth Fund targeting unconventional gas and oil resources in North America and up to $175 million, on a flexible basis, into new KKR energy private equity investments natural gas exploration and production, midstream, downstream and/or energy infrastructure and services in the region.

The next few major groups include Bank / Financial Services, Corporate and Insurance Company, making up 16%, 14% and 12% of the total number of Asian investors respectively. Japanese banks are particularly active in the asset class in last one year. In 2013, Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) have invested in CapAsia’s Asean Infrastructure III, the Mexico focused Balam Fund I, the Core Infrastructure Indian Fund which was co-established by Kotak Mahindra Group, Brookfield Asset Management and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, and a Russian-Japanese Investment Platform co-sponsored by JBIC and Russian Direct Investment Fund. In March 2014, Development Bank of Japan together with the Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) have committed to Global Strategic Investment Alliance (GSIA), an unlisted co-investment infrastructure vehicle initiated by Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS), Japan’s Pension Fund Association, Mitsubishi Corporation, JBIC, and Mizuho Bank.