(Dec 6): Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings Pte Ltd has set up a private credit platform with an initial portfolio of about S$10 billion (US$7.5 billion or RM32.97 billion) in a bid to seize more opportunities in the burgeoning asset class.

The portfolio will consist of direct investments and credit funds, Temasek said in a statement on Friday. The wholly owned platform will be managed by a team of around 15 in New York, London and Singapore transferred from Temasek’s Credit & Hybrid Solutions team.

Temasek joins other major investors that have piled into the roughly US$2 trillion sector, despite growing voices of concern about risks due to interest-rate cuts and overcrowding. BlackRock Inc, the world’s biggest asset manager, this month agreed to buy private credit firm HPS Investment Partners for about US$12 billion.

Temasek’s total portfolio was valued at S$389 billion as of end-March, with just over half being in private assets. A spokesperson said that the new platform’s portfolio will be drawn from its existing investments in private equity and credit funds and other private companies — two categories that make up 55% of its S$202 billion in unlisted assets. The firm doesn’t provide an exact breakdown of its exposure to private credit.

The platform will be led by Nicolas Debetencourt, who has been Temasek’s head of credit and hybrid solutions since 2016. It will be separate from Temasek-owned Seviora Group, which includes SeaTown Holdings International. The latter said in August it raised US$1.3 billion for its second private credit fund, bringing its assets under management to over US$2.5 billion.

Uploaded by Tham Yek Lee