CLSA Capital launches Asian water and waste fund
HONG KONG, Aug 26 (Reuters) -CLSA Capital Partners said on Tuesday it had launched a new fund earlier this month to invest in Asia water and waste management opportunities, joining a growing number of firms pursuing water as an investment theme.
The $3 billion alternative asset management arm of Asian brokerage CLSA said it launched the Clean Water Asia Long Only Fund on Aug 1, with an initial investment of $35 million from a London-based firm.
The unit of French lender Credit Agricole (CAGR.PA) said the fund invests on a long-only basis, principally in listed shares of water and waste management firms.
"The fund complements the existing Clean Resources Asia and Clean Water Asia hedge funds and will leverage Capital Partners' extensive research and technical knowledge of the water and waste management sectors across the Asia-Pacific region," it said in a statement.
The fund manager said the new fund was part of its strategy to roll out the clean investment platform into a full service group including unlisted, long-only, and hedge fund vehicles. The new fund is the ninth fund from CLSA Capital Partners.
Other firms offering water funds include Swiss bank Pictet, which launched its Water Fund PICTET26 in 2000.
A Pictet fund manager last year estimated the United States alone needs to invest $1 trillion in water infrastructure over the next two decades and said annual spending of up to $80 billion is needed globally. (Reporting by Jeffrey Hodgson; editing by Ken Wills)
