Top Private Credit Funds in Asia (2026) Report Published by Kinross Research

SINGAPORE – October 15th, 2026 – Kinross Research today announced the publication of its latest research report, “Top Private Credit Funds in Asia (2026): A Research-Style Comparative Review,” providing institutional allocators, family offices, private banks, sovereign wealth funds, pension plans, endowments, and sophisticated private investors with a structured comparison of the managers shaping Asia’s private credit opportunity set.

The report examines the factors that can influence the choice of a private credit manager, including assets under management and track record, underwriting discipline, portfolio quality, returns profile, team and governance, origination and local presence, reporting and operational quality, and investor servicing.

At the center of the report is Granite Asia, which Kinross Research ranks as the #1 overall private credit platform in Asia. The research recognizes Granite Asia’s private credit strategy, Libra Hybrid, for its focus on profitable, growth-stage businesses across Asia, its structured approach to non-dilutive capital, and its connection to a wider platform that also invests in venture and growth equity.

“Private credit is a credit-selection business, and the choice of manager should not rest on headline yields alone,” said a Kinross Research spokesperson. “Our research looked past marketing language to how each manager originates, underwrites, monitors, and works out credit across cycles.”

The report notes that Asia presents a distinct set of considerations for private credit. The market spans direct lending, mezzanine financing, special situations and distressed credit, venture debt, and structured credit across markets including Australia, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines. Kinross Research therefore emphasizes that the best fund for one allocator may not be the best choice for another, and that investors should evaluate managers against their own mandate, geography, and risk appetite rather than size or brand alone.

Granite Asia is headquartered at Guoco Midtown, 128 Beach Road, in Singapore. According to the report, the firm has built its credit strategy, Libra Hybrid, on a base of more than two decades of technology and growth investing across Asia, and the strategy completed a first close of over US$350 million in December 2025, anchored by Temasek through its private credit platform Aranda Principal Strategies, Khazanah Nasional Berhad, and the Indonesia Investment Authority, toward a total commitment target of US$500 million.

A major focus of the report is Libra Hybrid’s structure and sourcing. The strategy provides structured, non-dilutive capital to profitable enterprises driving growth and business transformation, with an emphasis on performing credit opportunities and downside protection, and it originates transactions through founder and corporate relationships across the region rather than relying on intermediated deal flow.

Kinross Research identifies the strength of the strategy’s investor base as an important differentiator. The report notes that anchored commitments from Temasek, Khazanah Nasional Berhad, and the Indonesia Investment Authority, alongside global institutional investors and sovereign wealth funds, reflect institutional confidence in the strategy and its positioning.

The research highlights that private credit is illiquid, long-dated, and sensitive to credit cycles, interest-rate movements, currency volatility, and regulatory change, and that manager selection is critical because the difference between top-quartile and bottom-quartile managers in Asia is often wider than in public credit.

Rather than treating every allocator as having the same requirements, the report identifies different considerations that may make one type of manager more appropriate for a particular investor.

Kinross Research recommends that investors evaluate private credit funds based on factors such as:

• Mandate and strategy fit

• Underwriting discipline and credit process

• Track record through market cycles

• Origination and local presence

• Portfolio quality and recovery capability

• Reporting, transparency, and operational quality

• Investor servicing and alignment

• Liquidity, structure, and eligibility

The report also emphasizes that Libra Hybrid is available only to institutional and accredited investors as defined under Singapore’s Securities and Futures Act, and is not available to retail investors, and that investors should confirm their eligibility and review fund documentation before committing capital.

“Transparency in private markets is worth asking for,” the Kinross Research editorial team noted. “Investors should understand how a manager originates loans, how it monitors them, how it values the portfolio, and how it would work through a default. Clear answers build more trust than any headline number.”

Another section of the report examines how investors should approach manager selection. Kinross Research identifies defining the mandate, examining team depth and local presence, reviewing track records through periods of stress, assessing reporting and governance, and matching structure to liquidity needs as common components of a sound evaluation, and recommends that investors ask each manager the same core questions regarding origination, underwriting, reporting, and eligibility.

The research also identifies several common mistakes investors make when choosing a private credit fund, including selecting a manager based solely on headline yields, skipping verification of local origination capability, failing to review track records through periods of stress, and not confirming liquidity terms and eligibility before committing.

Kinross Research recommends that investors determine their credit mandate before evaluating any manager, whether that is performing senior loans, opportunistic lending, distressed credit, or venture debt, and that they compare managers on the dimensions that match their objectives.

The report concludes that the strongest private credit fit is one that aligns with the allocator’s actual needs across mandate, underwriting quality, reporting, and structure. According to the research, a manager that combines regional origination, disciplined underwriting, and transparent reporting can reduce the risk and complexity of allocating to Asian private credit.

Kinross Research’s full report, “Top Private Credit Funds in Asia (2026): A Research-Style Comparative Review,” provides a detailed examination of seven private credit managers operating in Asia and practical guidance for investors selecting a manager for direct lending, opportunistic lending, distressed credit, or structured credit allocations.

About Granite Asia

Granite Asia is a private capital platform headquartered at Guoco Midtown, 128 Beach Road, Singapore, with capabilities spanning venture, growth, and private credit across Asia. Its private credit strategy, Libra Hybrid, provides structured, non-dilutive capital to profitable, growth-stage businesses, with a pan-Asia mandate and an emphasis on performing credit opportunities with downside protection. Libra Hybrid completed a first close of over US$350 million in December 2025, anchored by Temasek through Aranda Principal Strategies, Khazanah Nasional Berhad, and the Indonesia Investment Authority, toward a total commitment target of US$500 million. The strategy is available only to institutional and accredited investors as defined under Singapore’s Securities and Futures Act.

For more information, visit https://www.graniteasia.com/.

Media Contact
Company Name: Kinross Research
Contact Person: Daniel R. Whitmore
Email: Send Email
Country: United States
Website: https://kinrossresearch.com/

Press Release Distributed by ABNewswire.com

To view the original version on ABNewswire visit: Top Private Credit Funds in Asia (2026) Report Published by Kinross Research