Myanmar's Ascent appoints two managing partners
Myanmar-based private equity firm Ascent Capital Partners has strengthened its leadership with the naming of two new managing partners. It follows a final close for the firm’s debut fund.
The appointees are Stanley Kyaw Khaing, a Myanmar-born intellectual property lawyer focusing on technology with over 13 years of experience gained in Myanmar and North America, and Yeo Chee Kian, who has 20 years’ experience in financial services with expertise in transport, logistics and infrastructure.
Khaing most recently served as director of corporate affairs and planning at Edotco, a telecom infrastructure company that received $600 million from Japan’s INCJ and Malaysia’s Khazanah Nasional in 2016 as part of a spinout from regional operator Axiata.
Yeo has held various positions at HSBC, Macquarie, Deutsche Bank, and Temasek Holdings. His responsibilities included origination for infrastructure investments across Southeast Asia and China as part of an Asia Pacific partnership with a global private equity firm.
“The addition of Stanley and Chee Kian completes Ascent Capital’s team-building process, which we began in 2019,” Lim Chong Chong, founder and a managing partner at Ascent, said in a statement. “With the perspectives and the expertise that they offer, we look forward to stepping up our investment pace in 2021, as well as expanding our focus in the logistics sector.”
Ascent closed its debut fund in November at $88 million. It was said to be the largest ever private equity fund dedicated to the country. 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, Asian Development Bank, and JG Summit Holdings are also investors.
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. The fund made its first investment in June last year, leading a $26 million commitment to Frontiir, an internet services provider.
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