Macquarie picks Singapore as infrastructure HQ

Singapore will be the new headquarters of Bermuda-incorporated Macquarie Infrastructure Management Asia Limited (MIMAL), which provides management services to the bank’s locally-listed S$1.2 billion (€620 million; $763 million) Macquarie International Infrastructure Fund (MIIF).

The establishment of MIMAL’s Singapore base is pending regulatory approval.
 
Macquarie has appointed Gavin Kerr to run the operation. Kerr, an executive director of Macquarie Bank, oversaw the establishment of the bank’s infrastructure funds management in South Africa, United Arab Emirates and most recently, South Korea.

Singapore was chosen as a base in order to meet the needs of MIIF’s large investor base in the Asian time zone, the bank said in a statement. Over 60 percent of the fund’s investors are based in Asia. The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority accounts for about 10 percent of the fund’s capitalisation.

Based in Sydney, Gregory Osborne will continue as an executive director of MIMAL and the alternate director to the chairman of the fund, John Roberts.

MIIF was listed in Singapore in May 2005 with S$803 million of capital and raised a further S$435 million in November last year.

To finance investments, the fund uses approximately 45 percent equity and 55 percent debt. MIIF is invested across sectors from aged care to renewable energy in a broad geographical area spanning from Australia to Canada.

MIIF made its first investment in Asia last year, when it acquired of a 38 percent stake in Changsu Xinghua port, located 90 kilometers upstream from Shanghai.