SINGAPORE Trends and Developments Contributed by: Hui Choon Yuen, Smitha Menon, Trevor Chuan and Felix Lee, WongPartnership LLP
ing higher-risk developments, stressed refinancings, cross-border transactions, and situations requiring additional leverage. Data centre financings – opportunities for private credit and blended financing With Asia-Pacific data centre capacity anticipat - ed to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 16% through to 2030, operators will increasingly look beyond traditional bank financing to fund over USD100 billion in planned construction in the data centre sector over this period. To support funding on this scale, operators are tapping alternative funding sources including private credit, as well as blended finance which combines both public and private mar - ket capital. In this regard, DayOne Data Centers, a Singapore- headquartered global data centre developer and oper - ator, is reportedly seeking private credit financing of USD1 billion to fund its data centre expansion plans. Across the globe, hyperscale data centre projects, which require significant capital, are increasingly draw - ing upon both public and private funding, combining the de-risking transparency of public capital with the efficiency and flexibility offered by private capital. In the light of heightened data centre demand in the Asia-Pacific region, it is likely that blended funding strategies for data centres will become more prevalent in the region as well. Growth credit – filling the space between for high- growth technology firms Another notable rapidly developing subset of private credit is growth credit, which refers to debt financing extended to smaller, high-growth, sponsor-backed private companies. Borrowers in this space are often in a middle place, not yet at a stage where they are able to obtain funding from bank lenders or direct lending platforms, and yet too established or dilution averse to consider venture funding. Growth credit fills the void by delivering much-need - ed capital to fuel expansion in a structured, senior- secured form that minimises dilution and largely preserves ownership structures (albeit frequently still giving lenders upside-potential by way of warrants).
However, while growth credit is well established in more mature markets such as in the US, it is still a developing area in the Asia-Pacific region, where fast-growing technology companies often struggle to secure traditional bank loans due to limited operating histories or asset-light business models, yet founders and investors remain cautious about raising substan - tial equity rounds at compressed valuations. There have been notable developments in the growth credit space in Singapore, where January Capital, a Singapore venture capital firm, announced the final close of its Growth Credit Fund on 15 December 2025, which was oversubscribed and which has secured commitments in excess of USD130 million. As at 15 December 2025, the fund reported that it had been actively deployed, with growth credit extended to five category-leading companies in the region and term sheets signed for an additional five transactions tar - geted to close in the first quarter of 2026. Special situations and distressed debts Private credit in APAC is increasingly defined by spe - cial situations – complex capital needs, cross-border enforcement risk, and uneven access to syndicated markets – rather than by distress alone. Against this backdrop, Singapore has emerged as the region’s most execution-reliable forum for creditor-led solu - tions, anchoring cross-border restructurings and new- money priority capital. Special situations and opportunistic credit are increas - ingly defined not merely by financial distress, but by borrower demand for sophisticated, bespoke capital solutions amid complex business or structural shifts. These situations are often difficult to underwrite and are frequently misunderstood by the broader market, enabling nimble private credit providers to earn a “complexity premium” at attractive entry points. Distressed debt typically involves acquiring a com - pany’s obligations in the secondary market at a signifi - cant discount to par, often as a prelude to a restructur - ing or enforcement strategy. Across APAC, private credit sponsors active in special situations and distressed strategies report a deeper pipeline. At the same time, Hong Kong liquidation
224 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook