AIIB, Clifford Capital launch $2b infrastructure platform
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and Clifford Capital, a Singaporean infrastructure investor, have jointly launched an approximately $2 billion debt platform.
Known as Bayfront Infrastructure Management, the platform will acquire predominantly brownfield project and infrastructure loans from financial institutions, warehouse and manage them, with the objective of distributing securitized notes to institutional investors in the public markets. It will also sponsor, structure and manage such distribution issuances and invest in the equity tranches.
Bayfront is expected to be capitalized with $180 million in equity and $1.8 billion in debt issuance capacity. AIIB will invest $54 million, representing 30% of Bayfront’s equity capital, with the remaining $126 million to be contributed by a holding company to be established by Clifford. Bayfront is expected to be operational from the first quarter of 2020.
“Singapore has attracted a diverse mix of industry expertise and networks as part of its ambition to be a full-service Asia infrastructure financing hub,” Gillian Tan, head of financial markets development for the Monetary Authority of Singapore, said in a statement. “This first-of-its-kind platform demonstrates how infrastructure can be developed as a mainstream, investible asset class for mobilizing institutional capital.”
Based in China, AIIB is a multilateral development bank targeting social and economic outcomes in Asian infrastructure, with a significant focus on underpenetrated developing markets. Recent activity in this vein includes a partnership with Aberdeen Standard Investments aimed at setting up a $500 million program to issue green bonds and develop debt capital markets focused on promoting sustainable investing.
Clifford is a specialist provider of structured finance established with support from the Singapore government that claims to have committed more $2 billion to various projects globally since inception in 2012. In 2016, Clifford helped set up Pierfront Capital, an alternative credit investment fund manager that provides junior debt, mezzanine and structured equity to support infrastructure and real estate projects.
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