National Post (National Edition)
AIMCo seeks to grow Asia asset exposure to 15%
Japan, India markets with opportunities
Alberta Investment Management Corp., one of the largest Canadian institutional investors, is increasing its Asia exposure by tapping into investments including infrastructure.
The company is seeking to grow its Asia portfolio contribution to about 10 to 15 per cent of assets under management from mid-single digits now, said AIMco's head of Singapore Kevin Bong during a Tuesday interview on the sidelines of the Milken Institute Global Investors' Symposium in Hong Kong.
The fund, which opened a Singapore office in September, has been hiring in the region and is looking to grow its team over time. Managing $158 billion of assets, AIMCo joins a number of funds seeking to diversify portfolios by allocating more capital to the region across asset classes including private equity and private debt.
In Asia, the firm focuses on direct investments in infrastructure and also participates in co-investments. For private equity deals, it mostly deploys capital through PE funds, which the company is trying to turn into strategic partners.
Investing on behalf of pension, endowment, insurance and government fund clients in Alberta, the company is seeking to put more capital into health care and green transition tech both in Asia and globally, according to Bong, who is also a former GIC Pte Ltd. managing director.
A lot of things in Asia look “attractive,” with Japan and India as examples of markets with opportunities, he said in a separate interview with Bloomberg TV on Tuesday. The company is “open-minded” about China and has been maintaining exposure there, he added.
Currently, about three per cent of the firm's assets are parked in Asia infrastructure-related investments in regions including Australia. AIMCo is also exploring similar opportunities in South Korea and Southeast Asia.
Globally, AIMCo has about 60 per cent of its portfolio in public assets, while the rest are in private investments. It has about $15 billion to $20 billion respectively allocated to real estate, infrastructure and PE assets.