Asia | June 5, 2019

Singapore’s Temasek’s new impact fund targets the global goals in Asia

Jessica Pothering
ImpactAlpha Editor

Jessica Pothering

ImpactAlpha, June 5 – Temasek isn’t new to impact investing; its roster of direct and indirect impact investments includes tech-for-good company Zipline, which just raised $190 million; vegan food companies Impossible Foods and Perfect Day, whose recent funding rounds Temasek led; and TPG Growth’s Rise Fund.

Now Singapore’s $308 billion state-owned investment fund is rolling out its own private equity impact fund to invest in Asia’s social businesses.

The fund, called ABC World Asia, is housed under the firm’s philanthropic arm, Temasek Trust, with backing from Temasek Holdings and Singaporean private equity firm Pavilion Capital. It will invest in companies that support Temasek’s “ABC World” vision: Active Economies built around good jobs and sustainable cities; Beautiful Societies that are just, inclusive and resilient; and a Clean Earth.

The fund is meant to “help bridge the financing gap in support of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.” But it also serves as an extension of Temasek’s overall investment thesis and approach.

“We focus on sustainable long term returns, which is not the same as maximizing returns,” Temasek’s chairman Lim Boon Heng wrote. “Core to this philosophy is that, for businesses to thrive, the societies in which they operate must thrive too.”

The size of ABC World Asia was not disclosed.