Partners Group has closed a $1B private credit mandate with a major institutional investor in Asia, structured as an open-ended evergreen vehicle that includes both a discretionary tranche managed by the firm and co-investment capital.

The mandate will invest in senior and junior direct lending opportunities across Asia Pacific, building a diversified portfolio spanning multiple sectors and jurisdictions. The evergreen structure is designed to give the client long-term, flexible exposure to the asset class while accommodating specific deployment requirements, according to the firm.

The transaction marks one of at least five private credit mandates Partners Group has closed with institutional investors in Asia over the past year. Among those was an EUR 800M mandate supporting a regional sovereign wealth fund in building direct private equity and infrastructure exposure across markets in Asia and Europe.

"Within private credit specifically, a growing number of sovereign wealth funds and insurance companies, particularly in Southeast Asia and Japan, are increasing allocations to the asset class due to the attractive risk adjusted returns currently available compared to public fixed income portfolios," said Kevin Lu, chair of Asia at Partners Group.

Andrew Bellis, global head of private credit at Partners Group, noted the significance of the mandate for the firm's regional strategy. "The concentration of highly differentiated economies in the region also creates natural diversification benefits," Bellis said.

Partners Group, which manages over $40B in private credit assets globally, established its Asian presence in 2004 with the opening of a Singapore office. The firm has since built bespoke solutions for institutional investors across Greater China, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea.

For European credit managers, the mandate illustrates the growing opportunity to deploy private lending expertise into Asia Pacific markets, where institutional appetite for the asset class is expanding rapidly. The evergreen structure — increasingly favoured by large allocators seeking permanent capital solutions — signals a maturation of the region's private credit market beyond traditional closed-end fund commitments.