AIGF Advisors, the Southeast Asia-focused private equity platform of Japan’s Mitsubishi Corporation, has reached a first close of 12.1 billion yen ($79 million) for its third fund.
AIGF III, which aims to raise more than 20 billion yen ($130 million) over the next 18 months, has secured commitments from institutional investors in Japan and Singapore, including Mitsubishi, Pavilion Capital, The San-in Godo Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, The Toho Bank, and Yamato Shinkin Bank, according to an announcement on Friday (Feb. 13).
Established in 2014, AIGF provides growth capital to small- and mid-cap companies in the ASEAN region. The firm closed its second fund at 17.3 billion yen in 2022.
Across its first two funds, AIGF has completed seven investments, of which two have been exited, including Malaysian supermarket chain Jaya Grocer and the KFC Thailand franchise RDCL.
Other portfolio companies include Malaysian commercial kitchen equipment provider Berjaya CKE International, flexible workspaces provider KMC Solutions, Meatworld International in the Philippines, Vietnamese water purifiers brand Karofi, and Singapore-based logistics firm BHS Kinetic.
In addition to AIGF, other Japanese corporate-backed private equity platforms targeting Southeast Asia include Marubeni Growth Capital Asia, Mizuho Asia Partners, and the Development Bank of Japan and Aozora Bank’s joint fund.
Independent private equity houses have also been opportunistic in this region, such as Advantage Partners and Polaris.
