<article>AJ Capital, a family office based in Singapore, is preparing to launch a lending fund in March next year with a minimum of $100 million in external capital, a source has told this portal.</article>

AJ Capital, a family office based in Singapore, is preparing to launch a lending fund in March next year with a minimum of $100 million in external capital, a source has told this portal.
The fund, which will also see the family office allocate capital for a co-investment pool, will focus on providing credit to the healthcare and education sectors in Southeast Asia and India. The two segments are witnessing a boom on account of growing middle-class incomes and the opportunity created for lending businesses due to regulatory constraints.
With about six months left to launch the fund, AJ Capital is currently applying for a licence in Singapore to open up the fund to external investors.
The lending vehicle will have a hybrid model where a &#8220;significant chunk&#8221; will be used to set up a non-banking finance company (NBFC) while the rest will be used to capitalise and acquire some of the existing early-stage lending businesses in the region, the source told DEALSTREETASIA.
The pool of capital for the vehicle is likely to come from regional institutions and family offices, the source noted.
Founded in 2012, AJ Capital currently runs a multi-strategy portfolio which includes fixed income, commodities, currencies, listed equities, private equity and venture capital.
The firm was founded by former investment analyst Abhinav Jhunjhunwala who was with hedge fund Valiant Capital in San Francisco, California and also had a stint with Deutsche Bank as an analyst.
Once launched, the fund will be an addition to a growing number of private credit funds launched by large global firms such as BlackRock, Carlyle, EQT Partners and UK public pension fund Nest.
In August this year, BlackRock made the final close of its Asia-Pacific Private Credit Opportunities Fund (APCO) I that was targeting to raise $300-500 million while US-based alternative asset manager Hamilton Lane closed its $900-million fourth private credit vehicle in June with commitments from global investors including Asian LPs.
OCP Asia, a secured lending solutions provider for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) across the Asia Pacific, early this year had launched a $500-million closed-ended private credit vehicle. Around the same time, in January this year, global private equity major KKR said it closed its second private credit fund at $2.24 billion.
Also Read:
<a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/blackrock-asia-private-credit-104119/">BlackRock hits final close of maiden Asia private credit fund</a>
<a style="color: #ff0000;" href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/hamilton-lane-private-credit-asia-99473/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Armed with $900m private credit fund, Hamilton Lane sees pockets of opportunities in Asia</a>

The fund, which will also see the family office allocate capital for a co-investment pool, will focus on providing credit to the healthcare and education sectors in Southeast Asia and India.

AJ Capital to launch lending fund in March, seek $100m in external capital

Bring stories like this into your inbox every day.

Sign up for our newsletter - The Daily Brief

AJ Capital to launch lending fund in March, seek $100m in external capital

Start your deal-making journey now!

Bring stories like this into your inbox every day.

Sign up for our newsletter - The Daily Brief