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Asset Management / Treasury & Capital Markets
Evergreen Assets Management sets up fund to raise S$100 million
Firm wants to expand financing and automotive businesses in Indochina and Singapore
The Asset 26 Aug 2020

Evergreen Assets Management has set up a new fund to raise up to S$100 million (US$73.07 million) for its financing and automotive business activities in Indochina and Singapore.

The five-year, closed-end fund will initially focus on Evergreen AM’s micro-financing business in Cambodia while a small portion of the proceeds will be invested in its automotive business in Singapore, the Singapore-based company said in a statement. The fund’s geographic allocation will be diversified later to cover more Indochina countries such as Myanmar and Vietnam.

Says Evergreen AM chief executive officer David Yong: “The fund builds on Evergreen’s decades-long track record of doing business in Indochina. While the fund is primarily focused on Cambodia in the initial stage, we have a pipeline of investments in Myanmar and Vietnam which would materialize in the next 18 months. These investments will represent strong exposure to the Indochinese economies.”

Evergreen AM business development director Desmond Sim says the fund has so far received about S$25 million in commitments from accredited investors who recognize the growth opportunities in Indochina.

The company has received a license from the National Bank of Cambodia, the central bank, to conduct micro-financing in the Southeast Asian country.

Says Yong: “The award of the financial institute license in Cambodia comes at an opportune time. As an entrepreneur, we empathize with the pains that small and medium-sized companies are now facing – they are without cash flow and credit – critical business lifelines because of the global Covid-19 pandemic.

“We hope our micro-finance business will contribute to the growth of Cambodia where there is an urgent need for financing to keep SMEs and individuals going. We also intend to reach out to other demographic segments such as women in Cambodia who are usually overlooked by banks, to empower them to make their own livelihood.”

The fund is being managed by Davy Goh of Passion Venture Capital, which holds a capital markets services license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

Evergreen AM is also applying for financial institute licenses in Myanmar, where it was engaged in the timber business 30 years ago, and Vietnam.

 

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