ADB expands Singapore team in push for private investment
A framework agreement with 12 global insurers provides US$2.5 billion in capacity to share investment risk with the development lender.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has doubled the number of specialists it employs in Singapore to around 30, seeking to draw private investment into infrastructure and development projects across Asia. It aims to attract US$13 billion a year in private capital by 2030.
Singapore gives the lender access to investors and helps it connect their funding requirements with regional projects, Isabel Chatterton, ADB’s director general for private-sector operations, told The Business Times. She expects further growth in private-sector financing, which reached US$8.5 billion after US$6.8 billion in 2024.
Chatterton said investors’ differing requirements make reliance on one pool of funding difficult. Pension funds want investments suited to their long-term obligations, while private equity firms need a clear timeframe, target return and exit plan before committing.
ADB is building a pipeline of projects suitable for investment and helping lower their risks through blended finance and financial structuring, she said. Its framework agreement covering 12 global insurers makes US$2.5 billion available for sharing investment risk.
Singapore family offices have approached ADB about major regional initiatives, Chatterton said. These include Singapore’s plan for imports of low-carbon electricity totalling 6 gigawatts by 2035, which could support the wider ASEAN Power Grid.
The bank also anticipates an active supporting role when Singapore chairs ASEAN in 2027. Chatterton identified attracting capital and tackling mismatches between financing and currencies as priorities.
