<article>Australia&#8217;s <a style="color: #000080;" href="http://www.dealstreetasia.com/?s=macquarie" target="_blank">Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets</a> (MIRA) has raised  $3.1 billion to invest in Asian infrastructure.</article>

Australia&#8217;s <a style="color: #000080;" href="http://www.dealstreetasia.com/?s=macquarie" target="_blank">Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets</a> (MIRA) has raised  $3.1 billion to invest in Asian infrastructure.
The investments will be made through its regional fund and specialist vehicles. The fundraise includes the firm&#8217;s Asia Infrastructure Fund which closed at $2.3 billion.
The specialist investment vehicles are backed by a group of returning and new investors based out of Asia Pacific, North America and Europe.
Return investors include US pension <a style="color: #000080;" href="http://www.dealstreetasia.com/?s=New+Mexico+State+Investment+Council" target="_blank">New Mexico State Investment Council</a> and Dutch pension manager <a style="color: #000080;" href="http://www.dealstreetasia.com/?s=PGGM" target="_blank">PGGM</a>, reported Infrastructure Investor.
The fund highlights a sharper focus on emerging markets for Macquarie, that was a leader in infrastructure investing but faces increasing competition from new entrants in Europe and other developed regions.
But the swerve towards Asia comes with risks, that were highlighted when a series of explosions rocked a chemical warehouse in the port at Tianjin, China, in August. While facilities managed by Macquarie were not affected, they did suffer from the resulting slowdown. The accident was one of China&#8217;s worst industrial accidents.
The Australian fund manager has already invested more than $1.3 billion in six portfolio companies in four companies since the time it hit first close at $1.1 billion in the Asia Infrastructure Fund, which focusses on transportation, communications, utilities, power, energy and waste management assets.
The Sydney-based fund manages $101 billion of assets on behalf of institutional clients across 45 funds in more than 120 businesses.
The fund also has managers in Asia Pacific nations that are investment-grade, like China, India, South Korea and New Zealand.
Not all funds have done well. In 2012, the firm closed a Singapore-listed fund that had stakes in four assets in Taiwan and China, due to concerns about lack of investment opportunities that would have met the fund&#8217;s criteria.
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Australia's Macquarie Infrastructure raises $3.1b for funding Asian infrastructure

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Australia's Macquarie Infrastructure raises $3.1b for funding Asian infrastructure

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