CLSA Capital Partners, the private equity arm of CLSA, an Asian brokerage house and investment bank founded in 1986, is targeting commitments of $200 million for a fund to invest in Asia’s clean technology sector.
The Clean Resources Asia Growth Fund, which was launched last year has seen a first close on an undisclosed amount. The fund is expected to hit a final close by the fourth quarter of 2010, Peter Kennedy, managing director of CLSA’s Clean Resources Capital group, told PEI Asia.
International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private investment arm of the World Bank is considering a $25 million investment in the fund, according to its website.
The fund will make 10 to 12 investments and will generally deploy between $10 million and $30 million per transaction. It will target opportunities across the clean technology sector including areas such pollution and waste management technologies, water and waste water solutions, sustainable agriculture technologies, energy efficiency technologies and supply chain investments for alternative energy, according to IFC’s website.
The pan-Asian fund will make a majority of investments in China and India. It also expects close to a third of its investments to be made in other developing Asian economies such as Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand. Less than 20 percent of the fund will be invested in developed economies such as Japan and South Korea.
In addition to this fund, CLSA Capital Partners’ Clean Resources Capital group manages four other funds that invest primarily in listed equities.
In addition to its clean technology funds, CLSA Capital Partners also manages pan-Asian growth capital funds, a pan-Asian mezzanine fund, a Japan-focused growth and mid-market buyout fund and pan-Asian real estate funds.
In all, the firm manages assets in excess of $2.5 billion from offices in Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, Shanghai, Beijing and Mumbai.
