Yangzijiang Financial, Heliconia partner to invest up to $150 million in SMEs

SINGAPORE - Singapore-listed Yangzijiang Financial will partner Temasek-backed Heliconia Capital to invest in Singaporean and South-east Asian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), through a fund with a target size of up to $150 million.

Yangzijiang Financial will contribute $80 million to the Heliconia Generation Fund Limited Partnership, as the anchor limited partner, it said in a Tuesday bourse filing. Investments may be structured in the form of equity, debt and/or hybrid debt-equity structures, it added.

The fund intends to invest in promising SMEs with a focus on Singapore and Vietnam to catalyse more capital for them, co-investing alongside other funds managed by Heliconia such as the SME Co-Investment funds.

“Heliconia focuses on investing in growth-oriented SMEs. Some criteria used in identifying its investments include a strong market position, sustainable competitive advantage, competent management and the potential to be a significant player regionally or globally,” Yangzijiang Financial said.

Mr Vincent Toe, Yangzijiang Financial chief executive and chief investment officer, said SMEs are a critical pillar of the economic system of every South-east Asian country. “With the fund focused on investing in promising small and medium businesses in the region, there is a plethora of growth opportunities we can target.”

Heliconia CEO Derek Lau said: “This is in line with our overall co-investment objective where we can leverage more networks… Partnering like-minded investors such as Yangzijiang Financial will add value for our investee companies.”

Shares of Yangzijiang Financial were trading up 0.5 cent, or 1.5 per cent, at 34.5 cents at 11.30am on Wednesday, following the announcement.

the business times