https://www.scmp.com/rss/519883/feed Private credit, or private debt, refers to the provision of financing to companies and individuals from funds rather than banks or public markets. This asset class has grown over the past two decades to become a trillion-dollar industry, with Asia-Pacific catching up as an important market. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com James David Spellman James David Spellman As war in the Middle East escalates, the financial fallout extends beyond energy price and supply-chain disruptions. Vulnerabilities in the US$3 trillion-plus global private-credit market are accelerating, driving investors to safe havens, while global finance undergoes a rapid transformation. China, the world’s largest creditor to developing countries, will feel the repercussions. This is the first real stress test confronting the vast lending empire. A meltdown was inevitable; only the timing... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3347602/why-global-private-credit-meltdown-would-hit-china-hard?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3347602/why-global-private-credit-meltdown-would-hit-china-hard?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Mar 2026 08:30:09 +0000 Kun Tian Kun Tian China’s latest credit figures have raised eyebrows, but they need not raise alarm. New bank lending, aggregate social financing and total credit growth all came in weaker than expected for October, marking their softest readings in more than a year. For markets conditioned to expect Beijing to counter every slowdown with a surge of liquidity, the numbers may suggest a worrying loss of momentum. But that reading misses the broader structural shift under way. The data reflects not a collapse, but... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3334138/chinas-shrinking-credit-reflects-financial-reset-not-collapse?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3334138/chinas-shrinking-credit-reflects-financial-reset-not-collapse?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Dec 2025 08:30:09 +0000 Aileen Chuang Aileen Chuang Asia-Pacific private equity managers are more upbeat on the deal outlook, expecting stronger returns and fewer geopolitical risks than their global counterparts, even as deal activity in the region continues to soften, a new survey shows. Respondents in the region expected an average net return of 17.4 per cent from the private equity industry this year, slightly higher than the 17.1 per cent expected by North American, European, Middle Eastern and African (EMEA) executives, according to... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3334804/healthcare-and-tech-drive-asia-pacific-private-equity-deals-amid-slower-growth-survey?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3334804/healthcare-and-tech-drive-asia-pacific-private-equity-deals-amid-slower-growth-survey?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Dec 2025 06:00:14 +0000 Aileen Chuang Aileen Chuang Chicago-based Adams Street Partners launched its Hong Kong office on Monday, joining a wave of Western investment firms setting up to take advantage of the city’s position as a gateway to international capital and cross-border deal making. “There’s an increasing number of private equity firms, growth equity [and] venture capital, that have a reason to be here in Hong Kong – kind of a Hong Kong nexus,” said Jeffrey Diehl, the firm’s managing partner and head of investments, in an interview. With... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3332969/wave-hong-kong-openings-western-investment-firms-continues-adams-street?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3332969/wave-hong-kong-openings-western-investment-firms-continues-adams-street?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 Nov 2025 00:30:09 +0000 Aileen Chuang Aileen Chuang Embracing technology platforms for applications such as electronic proxy voting, private debt underwriting and trading of repurchase (repo) agreements can help Hong Kong elevate its standing as Asia’s top financial hub, according to a leading US fintech firm. Technologies that simplified investor engagement had been a catalyst for growth in other markets, said Tim Gokey, CEO of New York-listed Broadridge Financial Solutions, adding that fintech could enhance corporate governance and product... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3329463/fintech-can-be-catalyst-make-hong-kong-next-level-financial-hub-broadridge-ceo?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3329463/fintech-can-be-catalyst-make-hong-kong-next-level-financial-hub-broadridge-ceo?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 Oct 2025 03:00:17 +0000 Aileen Chuang,Salina Li Aileen Chuang,Salina Li In the first instalment of our two-part series on Hong Kong’s beleaguered property market, industry players pin their hopes on the resurgent IPO scene to boost office uptake and ease the pain for developers struggling with US$18.8 billion of loans. KGI Financial Holding’s expansion in Hong Kong has breathed new life into the city’s struggling commercial real estate sector, with the Taiwanese financial firm leasing about 40,000 sq ft of space in the central business district. Managing nearly... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3320376/can-hong-kongs-ipo-boom-plug-hole-citys-floundering-office-market?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3320376/can-hong-kongs-ipo-boom-plug-hole-citys-floundering-office-market?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 02 Aug 2025 02:00:19 +0000 Aileen Chuang Aileen Chuang Global investors are showing more urgency in protecting their capital by allocating more funds to alternative assets over the next 12 months, as geopolitical risks continue to roil markets, according to an industry survey. About 45 per cent of these investors plan to increase their allocation to private credit and 37 per cent intend to raise their allocation to private assets in the secondary market, London-based Coller Capital said in a report on Monday. The ratios increased from 37 per cent... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3314631/asia-pacific-investors-raise-bets-private-assets-shelter-global-tensions-survey-shows?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3314631/asia-pacific-investors-raise-bets-private-assets-shelter-global-tensions-survey-shows?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Jun 2025 00:30:10 +0000 Aileen Chuang Aileen Chuang HSBC Asset Management will launch a dedicated private-credit strategy in Asia-Pacific later this year after its parent unveiled plans to inject US$4 billion into its funds to bolster the higher-returning business. The asset management arm of Hong Kong’s biggest lender aimed to use the offering to support corporate, family and private equity-backed clients across the region, according to Chris Fletcher, head of Asia-Pacific private credit. “We are going to be very much focused on supporting... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3312924/hsbc-asset-management-unit-dives-private-credit-asia-us4-billion-backing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3312924/hsbc-asset-management-unit-dives-private-credit-asia-us4-billion-backing?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Jun 2025 00:30:07 +0000 Reuters Reuters Streaming media firm China Ruyi Holdings, backed by gaming and internet company Tencent Holdings, is aiming to raise between US$300 million and US$500 million in convertible bonds next week, two sources with knowledge of the plan said. The offering of Hong Kong-listed Ruyi could be launched as early as Monday, said one of the sources. The bulk of the proceeds to be raised could be used for a potential acquisition, the sources said. Discussions around the acquisition, however, are at early stages... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3305088/tencent-backed-china-ruyi-tap-bond-market-us500-million-amid-growth-plans-sources?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3305088/tencent-backed-china-ruyi-tap-bond-market-us500-million-amid-growth-plans-sources?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 03 Apr 2025 09:44:20 +0000 Aileen Chuang Aileen Chuang Todd Boehly, an American tycoon who counts Chelsea Football Club, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Los Angeles Lakers in his portfolio, said he sees many opportunities in Asia, including Hong Kong and Macau. The opportunities may lead to a bigger presence in the region for his newly established asset-management firm in the future. “It’s a giant market and it’s right on the doorstep of [1.4] billion Chinese people,” Boehly said in an exclusive interview with the Post on Monday. “I have to lay the... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3303643/chelsea-owner-todd-boehly-eyes-hong-kong-and-macau-fintech-entertainment-expansion?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3303643/chelsea-owner-todd-boehly-eyes-hong-kong-and-macau-fintech-entertainment-expansion?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Mar 2025 10:00:45 +0000 Since the global financial crisis of 2007-08, private credit – nonbank lending from institutional investors direct to businesses or individuals – has gone from strength to strength. In Europe and the United States, it now forms an established part of the corporate financing firmament as banks pull back from traditional lending. According to Macquarie Asset Management in November 2023, the global private credit market is now estimated at around US$1.2 trillion, with annual fundraising growing... https://www.scmp.com/special-reports/article/3302662/no-longer-niche-how-private-credit-transforming-apac-lending-landscape?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/special-reports/article/3302662/no-longer-niche-how-private-credit-transforming-apac-lending-landscape?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 Mar 2025 09:00:17 +0000 Aileen Chuang Aileen Chuang Transaction volume in China’s mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market will bottom out this year and rise by 15 per cent in 2025, investment bank UBS says, thanks to falling interest rates, privatisations, private-equity activities and foreign firms selling their Chinese businesses. UBS, citing data from Dealogic, said China M&A deal volume in the first 11 months of 2024 fell 10 per cent from a year earlier to US$297 billion, putting it on track to sink for the third year in a row. The tally,... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3289198/china-ma-transaction-volume-bottom-out-year-rise-15-2025-ubs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3289198/china-ma-transaction-volume-bottom-out-year-rise-15-2025-ubs?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Dec 2024 23:30:07 +0000 Aileen Chuang Aileen Chuang Asia-Pacific’s private capital sector could get support from Chinese government stimulus as well as greater development of other financial markets in the region, according to data provider Preqin. China’s contribution to the region’s market for private capital has tumbled significantly in recent years, but stimulus measures and reforms from Beijing could spark a turnaround, said Angela Lai, head of performance and valuations for research insights at Preqin, in a research note published on... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3281911/apacs-market-private-capital-looks-positive-news-china-growth-preqin?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3281911/apacs-market-private-capital-looks-positive-news-china-growth-preqin?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 10 Oct 2024 23:00:17 +0000 Hong Kong-based credit investment firm SC Lowy is raising a private debt fund with a target size of up to US$800 million, nearly eight times larger than its first one. The move shows financial institutions such as SC Lowy are betting on the flourishing private debt market – in which credit is neither extended by a traditional bank nor publicly traded – to generate higher returns and bridge a funding gap amid elevated interest rates and an economic slowdown. “Asia is really at a turning point in... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3261676/private-credit-market-big-story-asia-though-institutional-investors-have-become-selective-say?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3261676/private-credit-market-big-story-asia-though-institutional-investors-have-become-selective-say?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 May 2024 06:00:23 +0000 Here we go again, sliding down the slippery slope that could lead to another international financial crisis. As in 2008 with the global financial crisis, the present threat is in what many would regard as an obscure corner of the financial system. This time, it’s the private credit market and, as was the case with those subprime mortgages that triggered the 2008 crash, few people beyond a narrow circle of financial regulators seem to know what private credit is and why it represents a... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3258676/private-credit-warnings-grow-fear-horse-has-bolted?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3258676/private-credit-warnings-grow-fear-horse-has-bolted?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 Apr 2024 21:30:20 +0000 ADM Capital, a Hong Kong-based private credit manager with US$2 billion in assets, sees opportunities for non-bank capital providers to fill the financing gap, particularly Chinese companies seeking outbound investments and Asian enterprises with environmental, social and governance (ESG) potential. “We’re seeing a lot of interest from Chinese companies diversifying manufacturing or increasing distribution in markets outside China,” said founding partner Christopher Botsford. “China outbound... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3256099/chinas-outbound-investments-drive-demand-private-credit-adm-capital-founder-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3256099/chinas-outbound-investments-drive-demand-private-credit-adm-capital-founder-says?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 21 Mar 2024 03:00:18 +0000 Hong Kong-based Gaw Capital and Pacific Aegis Capital Management Group (PACM) are building a US$400 million war chest to tap lending opportunities backed by properties in the city as they embrace the unloved real estate sector after it was shunned by banks taking a negative economic view. Private equity firm Gaw Capital has started raising a US$100 million credit fund that will make loans against Hong Kong property, on the heels of real estate private credit firm PACM’s plan for a US$300 million... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3255796/hong-kong-private-credit-goes-where-banks-fear-tread-loans-against-property?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3255796/hong-kong-private-credit-goes-where-banks-fear-tread-loans-against-property?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 19 Mar 2024 00:30:11 +0000 A few years ago, 16 Hong Kong family offices contributed US$50 million to the initial capital of a private credit fund established by Chicago-based Adams Street Partners. Since then, the fund has grown manifold with additional capital from new investors. It showcases the appeal of such investment avenues for family offices, or firms managing the fortune of wealthy families, as an alternative to public markets where asset prices have been reeling under high interest rates and economic slowdown. A... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3254617/private-credit-funds-appeal-family-offices-wealthy-investors-returns-sizzle-amid-market-challenges?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3254617/private-credit-funds-appeal-family-offices-wealthy-investors-returns-sizzle-amid-market-challenges?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 08 Mar 2024 05:04:21 +0000 Hong Kong’s funds industry is calling for a profit tax exemption for private credit assets, as the city is failing to attract a booming business and is losing out to Singapore because of its existing tax regime. The Unified Fund Exemption (UFE) regime allows most private-equity funds operating in Hong Kong to enjoy profit tax exemption provided that certain conditions are met, a move that is aimed at promoting Hong Kong as an asset-management centre. However, interest income on private credit in... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3253283/hong-kong-losing-out-jurisdictions-such-singapore-should-exempt-private-credit-assets-tax-industry?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3253283/hong-kong-losing-out-jurisdictions-such-singapore-should-exempt-private-credit-assets-tax-industry?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 27 Feb 2024 01:30:26 +0000 Goldman Sachs and Mubadala Investment, an Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, will deploy US$1 billion in private credit deals in the Asia-Pacific region to capitalise on the fast-growing opportunities in this asset class. The two firms signed an agreement on Monday, which will see them lend long-term capital to “high-quality companies and sponsors” across multiple Asia-Pacific markets with a focus on India, according to a statement from the US investment bank. “The opportunity in private credit in... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3253182/goldman-sachs-and-abu-dhabis-mubadala-sign-us1-billion-private-credit-deal-eye-asia-pacific?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3253182/goldman-sachs-and-abu-dhabis-mubadala-sign-us1-billion-private-credit-deal-eye-asia-pacific?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Feb 2024 04:00:32 +0000 Asia accounts for roughly 40 per cent of global gross domestic product, 70 per cent of global economic growth and 60 per cent of the world’s population, and yet receives only about 5.5 per cent of the US$1.5 trillion allocated to private credit markets globally. It is this opportunity that is luring investment firms such as BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, and banks like HSBC and Bank of Singapore to rush in and bridge a funding gap, after identifying small and medium-sized... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3251942/asian-private-credit-players-rush-bridge-funding-gap-smes-and-sectors-education-technology?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3251942/asian-private-credit-players-rush-bridge-funding-gap-smes-and-sectors-education-technology?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 14 Feb 2024 23:30:08 +0000 Hong Kong’s sophisticated investor base is bringing lending expertise to Asia’s private credit market, giving further impetus to the rapidly growing asset class, according to the new head of the regional industry body, the Asia-Pacific Loan Market Association. The region’s assets under management in private credit have increased more than 3.5 times in the last decade, to US$81.3 billion in 2022, according to data provider Preqin, but still account for only 5.5 per cent of the global tally,... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3251548/hong-kongs-talent-base-lends-expertise-rapidly-growing-asian-private-credit-market-aplma-ceo-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3251548/hong-kongs-talent-base-lends-expertise-rapidly-growing-asian-private-credit-market-aplma-ceo-says?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 14 Feb 2024 01:30:17 +0000