Fiji pension, Korea back Emerging Asia Fund

The International Finance Corporation, the World Bank's private investment arm, has committed $200 million to the IFC Emerging Asia Fund (EAF).

Managed by IFC Asset Management Company, the fund is also backed by the Korea Development Bank and the Fiji National Provident Fund. The investment is the latter's first in the region.

Having reached its first close, the EAF is seeking to collect additional capital from emerging market institutions in Asia, with a focus on “addressing the infrastructure deficit”.

It's unclear how much the EAF has raised for its first close and whether this fundraise follows the proposed launch of the IFC Emerging Asia Growth Fund in 2013, which had a target of $1-1.5 billion. Neither IFC nor IFC Asset Management had responded to requests for comment at press time. 

IFC describes emerging Asia, the fastest growing region and largest continental economy by GDP globally, as the world's economic growth engine. This position, it said, is entrenched by the emergence of a rapidly growing middle class and commitments by many governments in the region to political and economic reforms. 

“The dynamics have created significant opportunities for investment in the region including China, India, Indonesia, Philippines and Asian frontier markets such as Vietnam and Myanmar,” the institution added in a statement. 

In 2015, IFC's long-term investments in developing countries rose to nearly $18 billion, it said.