Canada’s development finance institution (DFI), FinDev Canada, is expanding its support to emerging economies, including in key markets across Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands.
The DFI has set up an office in Singapore, the first outside its base in Montreal, Canada. It will invest in private equity funds, local and regional financial institutions, and select direct investments, top executives at FinDev told DealStreetAsia.
The DFI focuses on climate and nature action, gender equality, and local market development. It will target the region’s sustainable infrastructure; agribusiness, forestry, and their related value chains; and the financial industry.
FinDev Canada was formed in 2018 and is capitalised with CA$1.5 billion from the Canadian government. It first ventured into Latin America, the Caribbean, and Africa. In 2022, its mandate expanded to cover the Asia Pacific, as part of the Canadian government’s strategic policy focus, and it started operations in the region in January 2024.
The region, which spans 40 countries from Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands to South and Southeast Asia and North Asia, has the world’s fastest-growing economies and six of Canada’s top 13 trading partners.
FinDev’s push into this region comes as the US is seemingly pulling back from international financial commitments.
“Canada made the decision to do more in the Indo-Pacific before recent global developments,” said Lori Kerr, FinDev Canada’s CEO.
Kerr said the institution is prioritising Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, and the Pacific Islands. “There are a lot of actors in India already,” Kerr added. “We’re taking a very measured approach to make sure we can add the most value.”
Last year, the DFI provided a $59-million senior corporate loan to Thai power company Gulf Renewable Energy Company, as part of a broader $820-million loan facility led by the Asian Development Bank. The financing is for the construction and operation of 12 solar power projects across Thailand.
According to the DFI’s chief investment officer Paulo Martelli, the institution is looking to allocate around 30% of its annual deal volumes into private equity. In December last year, FinDev Canada announced an investment of $40 million in Malaysia-based private equity firm Creador’s sixth fund.
In the announcement at that time, the DFI noted that Creador Fund VI is the manager’s first 2X-aligned fund, and that it “is committed to promoting gender equality both within the firm and across its portfolio. This includes implementing a Gender Action Plan, increasing women’s representation in its workforce, and offering gender advisory services to portfolio companies”.
Said Martelli: “When we’re looking at opportunities, we look at both the risk-return elements, but also the development outcomes, which are equally important for us.”
Editor’s note: This article has been corrected with clarifications from FinDev Canada.
