Asia’s mid-market direct lending: the goldilocks zone?
Asia’s mid-market direct lending: the goldilocks zone?


Golden Vision Capital (Singapore) is a new Single Family Office set up in 2021, focused on making PE and VC direct investments in Asia, leveraging on the family and team’s strong business connections in the region. It also actively invests in leading PE Funds globally and co-invests alongside them. Its CEO Sean Low, CFA is a veteran in the industry with 25 years of deal sourcing, investment experience, including 17 years in the PE & Infrastructure department of GIC, Singapore's SWF, where he help to oversee some of GIC's PE, Infra, Private Debt & VC fund and direct/co-investments in US, Europe and Asia at different times, and led some of GIC’s landmark deals in each region. He last played a leading role in expanding GIC’s private debt program, and last served as an active member in GIC Credit Business group which help review GIC’s overall credit investment strategy.
Sean began his career in Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), after he received the EDB Scholarship in 1993. He served first as Assistant Head of InfoComms & Media group, and then as Director of Chicago Centre. Sean was also formerly the senior advisor to Yangzijiang Financial Holdings, a listed asset management company in Singapore with US$3b NAV active in PE Fund of funds investment and private debt direct investments. He was also board member of CFA Singapore and first chaired its Audit Committee in his first term, and later its Investment Committee in his second term. He was also elected the Treasurer of Singapore's VC & PE Association in 2021. He graduated from Trinity College, University of Cambridge with BA (1st Class Honours), MA and M Eng. (Honours). He completed National Service in Singapore as a commander of a Brigade Reconnaissance Team in the Singapore Army.

Mr. Ferrier is a Managing Partner of Navis Private Credit.
Mr. Ferrier has more than 30 years of experience, which includes more than 20 years as a credit investor, portfolio manager and business leader.
Previously he was a Managing Director at BlackRock where he played a pivotal role in building BlackRock’s Asian-Pacific Private Credit business, growing AUM to $700m and developing a successful regional strategy focusing on Southeast Asia and Australia.
Prior to BlackRock, he was the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Myo Capital. The fund delivered 14% gross returns. Prior to Myo Capital he was a Director / Investment Committee Member with ADM Capital and a Corporate Finance Executive with Peregrine Capital and SG Warburg Group.
Mr. Ferrier holds an MBA, majoring in Finance and Accounting from Monash University and a Bachelor in Science from the University of South Australia.

Celia Yan, Managing Director, is the Head of APAC Private Credit within BlackRock Portfolio Management Group, and is the Lead Portfolio Manager of BlackRock’s APAC Private Credit funds and Chair of the Investment Committee. She is responsible for leading the platform, originating and executing investment opportunities, managing the investment process, and maintaining relationships with key deal sources and intermediaries across APAC. Celia serves on BlackRock's Global Private Debt Executive Committee and APAC Operating Committee (APOP).
Prior to joining BlackRock in 2020, Celia was the Head of Greater China with ADM Capital where she joined in 2011. As a senior private credit investor, she led the overall investment strategy and specialized in sourcing and executing private credit investments with Chinese angles, including inbound deals to mainland China and outbound deals across Asia and globally. Prior to that, Celia worked for National Australia Bank in Melbourne, where she advised on investment, performance and risk analysis solutions. Celia has a Bachelor of Commerce from The University of Melbourne (Australia), and a Master of Applied Econometrics from Monash University (Australia).

Ping is Co-Head of Aksia Hong Kong Office and has over 19 years of research, sales, trading and advisory experience in Asia. She is responsible for alternative investment programs in Greater China and conducting investment due diligence on Asia-based fund managers. Ping also works with Aksia’s global offices to provide updates and information related to the managers and strategies in the region.
Prior to joining Aksia in 2011, Ping worked at Nomura International Hong Kong Limited as a Foreign Exchange salesperson covering institutional clients in China. She started her career in 2003 when she joined the fixed income index research team in Lehman Brothers’ Tokyo office. She also worked at Lehman’s Hong Kong office covering Asia ex-Japan institutional investors from 2004 to 2008.
Ping graduated from Fudan University in Shanghai with both a BS and an MSc in Statistics. She is a CFA charterholder and a member of the Hong Kong CFA Association.

Mr. Khoja is a Managing Director and Head of Credit at ZCG and leads the ZCCP Investment Team, which manages numerous credit funds that invest in diversified portfolios of debt instruments. Mr. Khoja has extensive experience in the leveraged credit markets and securitizations and oversees research, trading and portfolio management across various funds focused on leveraged loans, high yield bonds, stressed, distressed investments and middle market credit.
Prior to joining ZCG, Mr. Khoja was at Garrison Investment Group, a multi-strategy credit-oriented firm, where he most recently served as a Director and a senior credit analyst on the corporate credit investment team. At Garrison, Mr. Khoja was responsible for building out the CLO platform and investing in credit opportunities across a range of sectors in liquid and illiquid primary and secondary performing and stressed/distressed opportunities for Garrison CLO’s, credit opportunities fund and private credit funds.
How is the deal flow and volume looking for Asia’s mid-market direct lending and what are the idiosyncrasies that LPs need to understand as it relates to Asia credit? Is there enough depth and sophistication in this corner of the market? As interest rates have gone up in the US and Europe, what can compel global LPs to invest in Asia if the gaps between those regions have compressed and they can get similar returns?