Thailand’s 9 Basil raises $120m for debut fund

9 Basil is led by Kris Panijpan, who has private equity advisory and investment banking experience with a number of Thai banks, and Schwin Chiaravanont (pictured), a co-founder of Blueprint who is also founder of local family office 2W Group and an executive director at Aura Group. The firm’s 18-strong staff operates via offices in Thailand, China, and the US.

Many of the LPs in the new fund are affiliates of Blueprint, including 2W. The fund will invest in Southeast Asia with an emphasis on Thailand. Target areas include consumer brands, financial services, supply chain, and real estate.

There will also be a special interest in distressed debt and helping struggling enterprises navigate the COVID-19 downturn. Current portfolio companies include distressed debt management platform Alpha Capital and microfinance provider Ngern Tid Lor (NTL).

“Ngern Tid Lor is a good example of how we [9 Basil] think about investing,” Chiaravanont said in a statement. “While externally this portfolio company looks indistinguishable from many local branch-based lending businesses, behind the scenes NTL’s management team has built deep technology - and data-driven lending and insurance platforms with the goal of promoting financial inclusion and social impact.

“We seek to take a position on high-quality industry leaders like NTL that will not only weather near-term digital disruption but will also lead the way in shaping the development of their respective ecosystems.”

Chiaravanont set up Blueprint alongside Kai Lam, previously an analyst at Himalaya Capital and CIO at Heima Capital. The firm represents 25 families in nine countries and claims at least $500 million in assets under management. There are now four fund commitments in total, including 9 Basil, and plans to invest 2-3 Southeast Asian companies a year for the next five years.

“The two co-founders have the vision of democratizing business in Southeast Asia, and consequently society, through efficient capital allocation to the best-run businesses operating in an environment that has generally been constrained by dominant business and political groups,” Blueprint said.

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• Topics
• Southeast Asia
• Fundraising
• LPs
• Credit/Special Situations
• Thailand
• Family office
• Distress
• Financial Services
• Consumer
• Logistics
• Real estate