MOVES-BlackRock names Yik Ley Chan to lead private credit efforts in Southeast Asia

SINGAPORE, June 4 (Reuters) - BlackRock said on Tuesday that it has appointed Yik Ley Chan to lead its private credit efforts in Southeast Asia, effective July 2024, according to a statement.

The U.S.-headquartered asset manager said Chan, who holds 16 years of financial services experience, will be based in Singapore and responsible for the origination and execution of private credit investments.

He was most recently Asia Head of Private Credit at Jefferies, where he oversaw markets in Southeast Asia including Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines, according to BlackRock.

"Southeast Asia is an exciting region offering promising opportunities for private credit, as corporates look for ways to finance transformation beyond traditional avenues," Celia Yan, Head of APAC Private Credit, BlackRock, said in the statement.

Chan's appointment comes at a time when private credit funds, which have potentially higher returns than bank financing, have gained traction in Asia over the last few years as companies tap alternative funding sources to equity and bank loans.

Last month, Malaysian government-linked private equity company Ekuiti Nasional Bhd or Ekuinas announced the expansion of its investment activity into private credit with an allocation of 800 million ringgit ($170 million).

(Reporting by Yantoultra Ngui; Editing by Janane Venkatraman )