Macquarie Asset Management raises $4.2 billion for Asia-Pacific fund

(Reuters) - Macquarie Asset Management, a part of Australia's Macquarie Group Ltd, said on Tuesday it had raised $4.2 billion for its third fund dedicated towards Asia-Pacific regional infrastructure, much beyond its $3 billion target.

The fund, which was launched in 2020, received the commitments from a diverse range of returning and new institutional investors, including pension funds, insurance companies and sovereign wealth funds, Macquarie said.

"The infrastructure markets across Asia-Pacific have been maturing at a particularly fast rate, and our clients continue to value the investment merits brought by infrastructure," said Frank Kwok, head of Macquarie Asset Management's real assets business in Asia-Pacific.

The latest fundraise brings the total capital managed dedicated to investing in Asia-Pacific infrastructure to over $15 billion, of which more than $2.4 billion has already been successfully committed across seven locally-sourced investments, with an additional $3.0 billion in co-investments.

"The positive long-term outlook for the region will continue to drive demand for high-quality infrastructure," said Verena Lim, head of Investments for the Macquarie Asia-Pacific Infrastructure Fund series.

Last year, Macquarie's asset management unit had raised $6.9 billion for its fund dedicated to investing in North American infrastructure as U.S. lawmakers negotiated a plan to spend $1.2 trillion over five years on public works projects.

(Reporting by Upasana Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)