Ascent closes debut Myanmar fund at $88m

Anchor LPs include Aung Moe Kyaw and Tony Chew, co-founders and co-chairmen of Myanmar Distillery, owner of the Grand Royal whiskey brand. Temasek Holdings, Asian Development Bank (ADB), and JG Summit Holdings are also investors.

The fund was launched early last year with an initial $50 million commitment featuring ADB and JG Summit. The target corpus at the time was $100 million.

The final close comes as global investors express concerns about the outlook for private equity fundraising in frontier markets with a high reliance on tourism and a lack of banking infrastructure for providing lifelines to companies struggling with COVID-19 downturns.

“Fundraising in emerging markets is expected to become more challenging in the next two to three years, especially for funds targeting small and midsize companies. These funds will struggle to survive, while larger and more established funds will be less impacted but still need development finance institution support,” the International Finance Corporation said in a recent report.

“We expect to see continued, stable growth for Myanmar’s economy,” Lim Chong Chong, a managing partner of Ascent, said in a statement. “In spite of the short-term [headwinds] facing the economy, we remain positive about Myanmar’s long-term potential.”

Lim, a former CFO and head of strategy at Capital Diamond Star Group in Myanmar, set up Ascent last year with bases in Singapore and Yangon. His background includes experience in strategic business development, IT, human resources, legal and corporate communications, as well as stints at Temasek, Ernst & Young, KPMG, and Citibank, in Singapore and China.

The Ascent Myanmar Growth Fund will make 10-15 investments in small to medium-sized enterprises of up to $20 million per deal. Focus sectors include consumer, education, financial services, healthcare, technology, media, and telecommunications.

There will also be a special focus on furthering UN sustainable development goals related to poverty reduction, education, gender equality, employment, and economic growth.

The fund made its first investment in June, leading a $26 million commitment to Frontiir, an internet services provider that covers some 1.6 million people across 360,000 households and busiensses. The service is currently available in four states and regions. The plan is to expand coverage nationwide.

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• Topics
• Southeast Asia
• Fundraising
• Growth
• Myanmar
• Ascent Capital
• Temasek Holdings
• Asian Development Bank
• SME