03
Mar
Global spotlight: Surviving and thriving as infrastructure investors
Global infrastructure fund final closes are set to well exceed USD 200bn this year, smashing the previous 2022 record of USD 171bn. But given almost half of this capital has been committed to mega funds, the high numbers do not necessarily reflect a significant spike in demand for infrastructure. As the asset class adapts to deliver the world’s future infrastructure needs, investors have an opportunity to move beyond buy-and-hold strategies, instead managing assets more actively to unlock new possibilities by harnessing groundbreaking technologies and new areas of service and value. As investors grapple with the new world order, and changing LP risk appetite for infrastructure, pulling levers to get the best out of your current core portfolio whilst selecting the next wave of investments and navigating geopolitics will be critical.
- How are global GPs thinking about macro-economic risks for their portfolios?
- Are infrastructure investors doubling down or moving away from the US?
- Are Europe’s renewed infrastructure plans unlocking new opportunities for private investors?
- How are investors navigating the compelling yet complex AI opportunity?
- Where does Australia (and APAC) fit within the global infrastructure investment landscape?
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SpeakersJames Abbott Partner Corrs Chambers Westgarth
Hans-Martin Aerts Managing Director and Head of Infrastructure & Private Natural Capital, Asia Pacific APG Asset Management
Wilson Chung Managing Director, Investment Management DigitalBridge Investment Management
Hemant Daga Co-Founder & CEO Neo Asset Management
Jan Brand Managing Director, Infrastructure & Natural Resources, Co-Head Asia Pacific OTPP
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James is the Partner-in-Charge of Corrs’ Sydney office. He has over 20 years’ experience advising sponsors, borrower and lenders in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region, focusing on financing transactions across the infrastructure, renewables, energy and resources sectors.
James advises on a wide range of project, fund, corporate and acquisition financings, including syndicated, ECA and multi-source debt financings, capital call, NAV and GP facilities.
Hans-Martin Aerts is a Managing Director and Head of Infrastructure & Private Natural Capital, Asia Pacific at APG Asset Management, one of the largest pension fund asset managers in the world. He is a director of various APG Asset Management investee companies.
In February 2007, Hans-Martin moved to Hong Kong to establish APG’s first office in Asia Pacific and is responsible for APG’s regional infrastructure and private natural capital strategy and investments.
Prior to working for APG, Hans-Martin was a Senior Portfolio Manager at ABP. He joined ABP in 2001 and has since worked in various areas, including listed equities, structured finance, infrastructure, and private natural capital. Hans-Martin is a CFA charter holder and holds an MSc degree in Economics from the Erasmus University Rotterdam, an MBA degree for Executives from Tsinghua University, and an EMBA degree from INSEAD.
Wilson Chung is a Managing Director at DigitalBridge Investment Management. Mr. Chung is based in Singapore and focuses on identifying and evaluating Asia Pacific investment opportunities. He has over 15 years of infrastructure, private equity, and corporate finance experience in the Asia Pacific region.
Prior to joining DigitalBridge, Mr. Chung was a Senior Vice President in the infrastructure principal investments team at Macquarie Capital. He led Macquarie’s balance sheet investments in digital infrastructure in Asia, with a focus on building platforms and developing greenfield datacenters and other digital infrastructure assets. Prior to that role, Mr. Chung worked in Macquarie Capital’s private capital markets team where he focused on principal investments and advisory mandates across the consumer and technology sectors in Asia.
Mr. Chung holds a Bachelor of Laws (honours), and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Melbourne.
Hemant has more than 21 years of experience in Indian financial services across leading organizations like ICICI Bank and Edelweiss Financial Services. In his last role with Edelweiss, he was the CEO of the Asset Management business which went on to become one of India’s largest platforms with more than US$3.5Bn of alternative assets and US$9Bn of mutual fund assets with marquee global and domestic investors as partners.
In addition to his impressive track record in the financial sector, Hemant brings a visionary approach to asset management, leveraging his deep understanding of both traditional and alternative investments. Hemant's leadership has been instrumental in the launch of several innovative financial solutions in India - the first domestic Infra Fund, the first Passive Debt ETF, and also one of India’s largest Special Situations Credit Fund.
Under his leadership, Neo Asset Management has established as an India focused private markets fund manager with US$2.2Bn in AUM across infrastructure, private credit and private equity.
Hemant is a graduate from St. Xavier’s, Calcutta and has done his MBA from IIM Bangalore.
Jan Brand joined Ontario Teachers’ in 2015 and is a member of its Infrastructure & Natural Resources team. He helps manage Ontario Teachers' investments across the Asia-Pacific region, including Connexa Limited in New Zealand, Spark Infrastructure in Australia, and Princeton Digital Group in Singapore. He has worked on the group’s acquisitions of Connexa in 2022, Spark Infrastructure in 2021, Enwave Energy Corporation in 2021, the National Investment & Infrastructure Fund in 2019, and Atlantic Aqua Farms in 2017. Jan sits on the boards of directors of Spark Infrastructure, Connexa Limited, and Princeton Digital Group.
Jan holds a Masters in Financial Economics from the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management as well as a Joint Honours Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Finance from McGill University.