Insurer Great Eastern invests in Granite private credit fund: Sources
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Great Eastern has invested around US$100 million (S$127 million) in the fund, according to sources.
ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG
- Great Eastern Holdings invested about US$100 million (S$127 million) in Granite Asia’s first private credit fund, which exceeded its US$500 million target with support from DBS and other investors.
- Global life insurers increasingly invest in private credit to boost profits, but rising defaults make them more cautious about their investments.
- Private credit is growing in the Asia-Pacific with less turmoil than elsewhere, but economic and geopolitical risks may slow future fundraising, according to Moody’s report.
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SINGAPORE - Insurer Great Eastern Holdings is backing Granite Asia’s inaugural private credit fund, according to people familiar with the matter, the latest example of an insurance company putting money into private credit.
Great Eastern has invested around US$100 million (S$127 million) in the private credit fund, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private matters.
Granite Asia, an asset manager based in Singapore, also raised close to $70 million from DBS Group Holdings’ private banking clients, according to a statement from the bank.
The money manager surpassed a US$500 million target for its pan-Asia private credit strategy with new commitments from an insurer, DBS Private Bank, and other institutional investors, it said in a statement on Aug 25.
Great Eastern and Granite Asia did not respond to requests for comment.
Under pressure to generate higher profits, global life insurance companies are among the biggest investors in private credit, but higher defaults are causing some to become more selective about where they put their money.
Several of the world’s biggest alternative asset managers were also forced to limit investor withdrawals from funds earlier in 2026 after concerns grew about outsized exposure to software firms threatened by artificial intelligence.
Still, private credit is growing in the Asia-Pacific and has avoided much of the turmoil elsewhere, given fund structures in the region tend to be closed-ended and they have less exposure to software.
However, economic uncertainty, geopolitical tensions and elevated interest rates are set to slow growth in private credit fund raising in the Asia-Pacific as investors become more wary of illiquid assets, Moody’s Ratings said in a report in July.
In 2025, Granite Asia secured more than US$350 million in anchor commitments for the fund’s first close. BLOOMBERG
