Key Takeaways
- • Granite Asia raised more than $500 million for its Libra Hybrid private credit strategy, exceeding its initial target, and is now prioritizing capital deployment across mid-market companies in Asia.
- • The fund has completed eight investments and achieved two exits since its 2025 launch, with distributions already returned to investors and reported returns in the "teens" during its first year of operation.
- • Granite Asia is targeting advanced manufacturing and healthcare sectors, with investment themes spanning digitalization, technology adoption, regional expansion, and supply chain restructuring across the Asia-Pacific region.
- • Asia-Pacific's private credit market is projected to expand from $59 billion in 2024 to $92 billion by 2027, creating a significant imbalance between available capital and borrower demand that remains less developed than U.S. and European markets.
- • The strategy targets mid-market businesses with access to traditional bank financing but reluctance to raise equity, positioning private credit as an alternative capital source that avoids shareholder dilution.
Summary
Singapore-based Granite Asia has raised more than $500 million for its Libra Hybrid pan-Asian private credit strategy and is shifting its focus to capital deployment rather than further fundraising, according to Reuters. The fund exceeded its initial $500 million fundraising target last month, with managing partner Ming Eng noting that no formal cap exists on the vehicle. Eng heads the firm's private credit strategy and emphasized that Granite Asia is now prioritizing the investment phase over continued capital raising activities.
Since its launch in 2025, Libra Hybrid has demonstrated early operational momentum, completing eight investments and realizing two exits while returning distributions to investors. The fund generated returns in the "teens" during its first year of operation, though Eng did not disclose a precise figure. The firm is targeting mid-market businesses across the Asia-Pacific region, with particular focus on advanced manufacturing and healthcare sectors. Granite Asia is assessing investment themes including digitalization, technology adoption, regional expansion, and structural changes in global supply chains.
Private credit appeals to Granite Asia's target market segment because mid-market companies often have access to traditional bank financing but prefer to avoid raising equity capital that would dilute existing shareholders. The strategy takes a geographically broad approach across Asia while addressing what Eng described as a significant imbalance between available private credit capital and borrower demand in the region. Asia's private credit market remains considerably less mature than those in the United States and Europe, presenting a structural opportunity.
According to the Alternative Investment Management Association, Asia-Pacific's private credit market is projected to grow from $59 billion in 2024 to $92 billion by 2027, representing a compound annual growth rate exceeding 15 percent. This expansion is attracting increasing institutional interest as private credit managers expand operations across the region. Granite Asia's positioning in the middle market, combined with sector focus on growth-oriented areas like healthcare and advanced manufacturing, positions the firm to capture demand from institutional capital seeking exposure to Asia's underpenetrated private credit market.
Since its launch in 2025, Libra Hybrid has demonstrated early operational momentum, completing eight investments and realizing two exits while returning distributions to investors. The fund generated returns in the "teens" during its first year of operation, though Eng did not disclose a precise figure. The firm is targeting mid-market businesses across the Asia-Pacific region, with particular focus on advanced manufacturing and healthcare sectors. Granite Asia is assessing investment themes including digitalization, technology adoption, regional expansion, and structural changes in global supply chains.
Private credit appeals to Granite Asia's target market segment because mid-market companies often have access to traditional bank financing but prefer to avoid raising equity capital that would dilute existing shareholders. The strategy takes a geographically broad approach across Asia while addressing what Eng described as a significant imbalance between available private credit capital and borrower demand in the region. Asia's private credit market remains considerably less mature than those in the United States and Europe, presenting a structural opportunity.
According to the Alternative Investment Management Association, Asia-Pacific's private credit market is projected to grow from $59 billion in 2024 to $92 billion by 2027, representing a compound annual growth rate exceeding 15 percent. This expansion is attracting increasing institutional interest as private credit managers expand operations across the region. Granite Asia's positioning in the middle market, combined with sector focus on growth-oriented areas like healthcare and advanced manufacturing, positions the firm to capture demand from institutional capital seeking exposure to Asia's underpenetrated private credit market.
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