KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 9): Bintang Capital Partners Bhd (Bintang) became the first Southeast Asian winner at the United Nations-support Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) Awards on Wednesday, and the first Asian investment firm to win the Private Markets special award.

Bintang, a private equity firm that invests primarily in growth-stage private market companies, focuses on Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries, as awareness of impact investing remains low in the region despite being greatly affected by climate change and social challenges.

Competing with more than 175 global PRI signatories, this win places Bintang among the ranks of past winners like Rockefeller Asset Management. The PRI Awards is judged by a panel of 37 independent experts,

“[Bintang]’s clear commitment to aligning financial returns with measurable social and environmental outcomes through mechanisms such as the equity clawback and carry-at-risk structures, is particularly noteworthy,” said one of the judges, Dr Hao Liang, associate professor of finance and the co-director of Singapore Green Finance Centre at Singapore Management University.

A showcase of this approach is shown in Bintang’s offerings. Its maiden fund, BCP Asia Fund I, legally required all its investees to work towards obtaining B Corp certification within two years of investment. 

B Corp certification requires businesses to go through a B Impact Assessment and achieve a minimum score, while changing their corporate governance structure to be accountable to all stakeholders and make their performance information publically available.

This is managed by B Lab, a global non-profit entity that ensures certified businesses meet standards of verified performance, accountability and transparency on various social and environmental factors.

Bintang’s Sequel Funds, like BCP Asia Fund II and BSIF I, align with the Malaysian government's sustainability initiatives such as the Twelfth Malaysia Plan and the National Energy Transition Roadmap, which prioritises sustainability, carbon reduction and social inclusion, according to the PE firm.

An example is how the Sequel Funds integrate periodic third-party carbon footprint audits to help portfolio companies develop actionable strategies for carbon transition, contributing to net-zero goals.

“UN PRI’s recognition is helpful in raising further awareness for the adoption of impact investing across Southeast Asia as a powerful solution for tackling key challenges such as climate change and social inequality,” said Johan Rozali-Wathooth, founder and CEO of Bintang. 

“This win is also timely given Malaysia’s chairing of the Asean in 2025, during which Bintang hopes that Malaysia will play a key role in catalysing greater regional impact capital deployment.”