These commitments are increasingly common and look set to become even more so in March, the European Union will introduce new landmark regulations that standardise ESG standards, transparency and reporting for investment funds. Canada's Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec has also been seeking to invest more into India, and Southeast Asia more broadly.ĪPG's focus on renewable energy in India aligns with the core of its investment mandate, which contains a focus on sustainability and environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles. He declined to share figures on the returns from these partnerships or disclose exactly how much APG has invested in India to date, but said the pension fund has successfully exited several investments in the country, which delivered “pretty attractive returns in line with our original underwriting.”ĪPG is not the only asset owner to aim to invest into such possibilities. Through this platform, the Dutch pension fund deployed over $750 million dollars, mostly in the renewable energy sector, Aerts said. One longstanding example of APG's interest is a partnership it has had with Piramal Enterprises since 2014, to provide mezzanine financing to Indian infrastructure companies. He noted that APG was interested due to a combination of the country's growth potential, its liberal foreign direct investment policy, and the government's apparent desire to encourage further development and economic growth via reforms. We’ve seen a lot of foreign private investments in infrastructure, real estate and private equity,” commented Aerts. “India has been one of the most active markets in Asia – not just for APG but for many of our peers. The fund recently invested in Godrej Fund Management’s $500 million office property fund and has previously set up joint ventures to invest in real estate here.

“It really varies from investment to investment,” he said.īesides Southeast Asia, APG eyes interesting opportunities in India. Instead, the investment team sets a return target based on the asset being evaluated or the way the investment is structured. However, he declined to state what level of return APG would look for from its investments, noting that it does not like setting fixed returns targets. Southeast Asia investments represent just 15% of the €85 billion it currently has invested into Asia Pacific.Īerts said the region offers potentially better returns, as well as higher risks. Indonesia in particular is making its desire to build more infrastructure built, with the country's planned sovereign wealth fund aiming to attract funds from foreign investors to fund more projects.īy investing more into such countries, APG may improve its regional diversification. And, similar to the Philippines, Aerts highlights infrastructure as an area in which APG sees the greatest investment potential. In addition to the Philippines, APG also sees investment opportunities in Indonesia and Vietnam, its next two most important markets in the region. This led to a more streamlined approval processes and faster project implementation, which helped APG to make multiple investments “across different infrastructure sectors” in the Philippines, according to Aerts. The programme consists of over 100 flagship infrastructure projects, including roads, airports and seaports. In 2017, Duterte’s administration launched an ambitious programme to drive the country’s infrastructure development. Aerts said the concentration is largely down to the efforts by the government of Rodrigo Duterte to involve the private sector in infrastructure development. This might seem surprising given that the country is far from the region’s largest, by population or economy.

“We don’t have a specific target allocation, but we’re keen to increase our footprint in the region,” said Aerts, speaking to AsianInvestor on a video call from his quarantine hotel room, where he has entered a mandatory third week of isolation for those returning to Hong Kong.Īerts said APG, which manages €560 billion assets on behalf of the Netherlands’ largest pension scheme, ABP, and two other Dutch retirement funds, has to date been the most active in the Philippines in the Southeast Asian region. Hans-Martin Aerts, head of infrastructure and natural resources for Asia Pacific, said the Dutch pension fund was actively eyeing growth opportunities in a region that often plays second fiddle to the larger economies to the north.

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