Private credit’s diversification opportunity in Asia

^{Seviora’s Christopher Smith is Head of Investor Solutions, Institutions}

Christopher Smith is Head of Investor Solutions, Institutions, at Seviora Capital, part of Seviora Group. The asset management group, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Temasek, was responsible for $75bn AUM in strategies, active and alternatives, in Asia and globally as of December 31, 2025.

Before joining Singapore-based Seviora in 2022, Christopher was Global Head of Business Development at private credit manager ADM Capital in Hong Kong. He previously worked at Spinnaker Capital, HSBC Alternative Investments, Goldman Sachs, and JP Morgan.

Shaun Beaney, Editor of Preqin First Close, and Harsha Narayan, Senior Writer, asked Christopher about the international context for private credit in Asia, finding bespoke opportunities, and investors’ changing expectations.

Shaun Beaney: How was Seviora Group created and what’s your strategy? 

We’re a Temasek-owned multi-boutique asset manager with about $75bn AUM. We were established in 2020 with the aim of becoming a leading investment platform spanning public and private markets – and in private markets, focusing on private credit, private equity, venture capital, and venture debt. The strategies today spread across all of these, including absolute-return strategies and, most importantly, bespoke solutions.

We’re part of the wider Temasek ecosystem. So, we’re able to leverage asset class, strategy, regional expertise, and product expertise – combining that in an institutional framework built on deep global networks and market knowledge.

SB: Looking specifically at private credit, what’s changed in Asia over the past few years to make it more investable?

Little has changed in Asia. What has changed is private credit in the US, driven by strong capital inflows and much more competition. The introduction of semi-liquid funds in the US has driven the inflows but this has also changed the risk profile of the US private credit market. There’s been a deterioration of loan terms and covenants, and a tightening of spreads.

Meanwhile, in Asian private credit we’ve got a healthy risk profile and wider spreads, built on stronger downside protection through hard collateral and loan covenants. Asia has more bespoke transactions, rather than a process which is more homogeneous. The lending environment is much less crowded than the US and European markets.

SB: It’s still a relatively nascent and fragmented private credit market. What does that mean for your strategy? 

The Asian market is heterogeneous. It’s a highly diversified market of many different countries, economies, currencies, political regimes, languages, and cultures. But it’s the fragmentation that actually creates a barrier to entry. The one-size-fits-all approach that can work well in US markets, for example, doesn’t work in Asia.

Lending and legal terms in the region need to be much more specialized, attuned to the differences in each country. For some, the differences present challenges, but we see them as opportunities on which Asia private credit can thrive. It's this diversification that creates the opportunity and the persistence of wider spreads.

Harsha Narayan: Where are you seeing the most compelling lending opportunities – by geography, borrower profile, and strategy? 

The key driver is a structural financing gap that persists in Asia. Banks are well capitalized across much of the continent, but private credit is significantly underrepresented. Asia accounts for approximately one-third of global GDP, but only 4% of total global private credit. The compelling opportunity here is for private credit to offer flexible and non-dilutive capital versus the well-capitalized banking system that’s very much constrained.

You can split the countries between those with well-established, borrower-friendly, more mature legal frameworks, and those where legal frameworks are in various stages of development. In the mature jurisdictions, the opportunities exist in more diverse parts of the credit landscape, whether that’s senior secured, bridge finance, acquisition, refinancing, or event-driven situations. In more developed, mature jurisdictions, we also see equity-backed financing and NAV financing. We may also provide mezzanine financing, loans with PIK components, and preferred equity structures.

Southeast Asia offers a great opportunity. The demographics are quite compelling. There’s vibrant, strong growth. Vietnam is quite compelling. Malaysia and Thailand as well. And Indonesia is a country with huge potential.

We’re typically looking for borrowers with $20mn to $500mn EBITDA. We’re looking for visible cash flows, defensible business models, and – importantly – strong management teams. We're broadly sector-agnostic and country-agnostic. We’re very focused on the cash flow of our borrowers.

HN: Much of Asia’s private credit deal flow is sponsor-light and relationship-driven. How does that influence underwriting, sourcing, and downside protection? 

In constructing a portfolio, we aim to balance direct-relationship lending with sponsored-backed transactions. We see value in both. We don’t have specific allocations. It goes back to constructing loans that meet our key focus points – downside protection for LPs, suitability for the borrower as well as ourselves, and companies that have visible, tangible cash flows.

HN: How do you approach underwriting and recovery across different markets, given the diversity of legal systems, creditor protections, and restructuring regimes? 

In all markets, we need to know and understand our borrowers exceptionally well. We need to understand their business models and confirm that they’re defensible, that they have strong and wide defensive moats. And we need to know the people we’re lending to. That approach remains the same wherever you are. It boils down to understanding the local market you’re in – relying less on a fly-in, fly-out approach.

HN: What are LPs asking you today that they weren’t asking two or three years ago? Are the conversations changing?

LPs continue to focus on returns. Increasingly, some LPs are also looking for more liquidity. We aim to provide this liquidity by generating strong cash flows. The short-term, high-yield, bespoke nature of our portfolio allows us to deliver this.

Investors are also seeking greater transparency – a better understanding of portfolio assets, the pipeline for new transactions, and exits. We want our investors to be well-informed. Risk management is always very important to our LPs. Key is to construct a strong portfolio, monitor it, manage it, and deliver the expected returns.

SB: How does the global economic and geopolitical picture affect your investment outlook?

Clearly, the key concern today for LPs and borrowers – and for all of us in the financial markets – is what’s happening in the Gulf region. Many investors who were allocating to the region before the conflict have put a pause on new investments. They’re reassessing the impact on long-term changes in global trade flows, inflation, and growth.

Asia is somewhat tied to energy from the Gulf. While we’re experiencing an initial shock, it’s forcing participants locally to reevaluate their global trading partners, find new routes, and build new alliances.

The light at the end of the tunnel may very well be a much more robust region, buoyed by strong demographics, diversification, and the need for capital.

Shaun Beaney is Editor of Preqin First Close, and Harsha Narayan is a Senior Writer. It’s quick, easy, and free to subscribe here.

This article has been updated since publication on June 18, 2026, to clarify some information.

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Special thanks to Jose Cerdan and Vincent Kee at Seviora Group, and to Angelina Chernyshova, Mingyue Sun, and Zoe Wang at BlackRock.

_{The views expressed are the opinions of Seviora Group as of June 2026. They do not constitute an endorsement, recommendation, or any other advice, and are subject to change. The content does not necessarily express the views of BlackRock, Preqin, or any of their affiliates. Seviora Group and Temasek are not affiliated with Preqin.}