Author: Donald Klip

A comprehensive guide to the full landscape of non-bank corporate finance solutions available to operating companies across Asia Pacific.

Published by

Donald Klip  |  Co-Founder, Global Mortgage Group  |  Head, GMG Capital Advisory

30 years of institutional finance. Former hedge fund founder. Senior roles at top global investment banks. GMG Capital Advisory arranges private credit and special situations finance of $10M–$100M for operating companies across Asia Pacific.

[email protected]   |   +65 9773 0273   |   Singapore · Hong Kong   |   Asia-Pacific  

When a bank says no, the conversation does not end. The capital market is significantly broader than the banking system, and operating companies across Asia Pacific have access to a wider range of financing solutions than most CFOs and business owners have been told about.

The banking system is one financing channel among many. The CFO who understands all the channels has a significant advantage over the one who only knows one. 

Private Credit: The Primary Alternative

Private credit corporate debt arranged through non-bank lenders including private debt funds, family offices, and specialist finance firms is the most comprehensive and flexible alternative to bank lending for mid-market operating companies. It covers the broadest range of transaction types, deal sizes, industries, and structures of any single alternative financing category. It is covered in depth throughout this series.

Asset-Based Lending (ABL)

Receivables financing: Credit advanced against outstanding trade receivables. The facility grows and shrinks with the business's receivables book, making it well-suited to seasonal or growth businesses.

Inventory financing: Credit secured against raw material or finished goods inventory. Common in manufacturing, distribution, and retail businesses with significant inventory positions.

Equipment financing: Loans or leases secured against specific plant, machinery, or equipment assets. Particularly relevant for capital-intensive industries.

Sale and leaseback: The operating company sells an asset typically real property or equipment to a finance provider and leases it back, releasing equity capital while retaining operational use of the asset.

Mezzanine Finance

Mezzanine finance sits in the capital structure between senior debt and equity. It carries a higher yield than senior debt and is typically used to bridge a gap between what senior lenders will provide and what equity investors require. In Asia Pacific mid-market transactions particularly leveraged buyouts and management buyouts mezzanine can enable deals that would otherwise be impossible to capitalise.

Family Office and High-Net-Worth Direct Lending

Singapore, Hong Kong, and increasingly other regional centres host a large and growing population of family offices and HNW investors who allocate directly to private credit and direct lending opportunities. These investors can be highly flexible; they have no regulatory capital constraints and can accommodate structures that institutional lenders cannot.

Government-Backed and Development Finance

Most major Asia Pacific markets operate government-backed lending schemes that provide subsidised or guaranteed credit to qualifying businesses. Enterprise Singapore, the SME Corporation in Malaysia, Indonesia's KUR programme, and Australia's various state and federal business finance schemes are among the better-known examples.

Export Credit and Trade Finance

Operating companies with significant export activity have access to export credit agency (ECA) financing in their home markets. ECAs in Australia, Singapore, Korea, Japan, and Taiwan provide loans, guarantees, and insurance for export transactions that domestic banks may be reluctant to finance.

The Right Solution Depends on the Situation

No single alternative finance solution is right for every operating company or every situation. The appropriate solution depends on the specific capital requirement, the business's asset base, its cash flow profile, its industry, its jurisdictional footprint, and the urgency of the need. GMG Capital Advisory works across the full spectrum of alternative corporate finance solutions. Speak to us first.

About GMG Capital Advisory

Donald Klip  |  Co-Founder, Global Mortgage Group  |  Head, GMG Capital Advisory

Donald Klip has 30 years of institutional finance experience spanning hedge fund management and senior roles at the world’s top global investment banks. GMG Capital Advisory specialises in arranging and structuring corporate debt financing of $10M–$100M for operating companies, asset owners, and project sponsors where conventional bank lending is unavailable, insufficient, or too slow. We operate across 23+ jurisdictions in Asia Pacific.

www.gmg.asia   |   [email protected]   |   +65 9773 0273   |   Singapore · Hong Kong 

The Debt Desk

Corporate private credit intelligence for Asia Pacific’s $10M–$100M middle market. Published by GMG Capital Advisory. Part of the Private Credit Asia content series.

www.gmg.asia   |   Read all 41 articles in the series

Everything you need to know about how private credit works, who it is for, what determines pricing, what collateral looks like across industries, and how to access it.

Published by

Donald Klip  |  Co-Founder, Global Mortgage Group  |  Head, GMG Capital Advisory

30 years of institutional finance. Former hedge fund founder. Senior roles at top global investment banks. GMG Capital Advisory arranges private credit and special situations finance of $10M–$100M for operating companies across Asia Pacific.

[email protected]   |   +65 9773 0273   |   Singapore · Hong Kong   |   Asia-Pacific  

Private credit is one of the fastest-growing segments of global finance. In Asia Pacific alone, assets under management in private credit strategies exceeded $150 billion in 2024 a figure that has more than doubled in five years. Yet for most business owners and CFOs, private credit remains poorly understood.

Private credit is not a last resort. For a growing number of Asia Pacific businesses, it is the first call. 

What Is Private Credit?

Private credit is lending provided by non-bank institutions, a dedicated private debt fund, a family office, an insurance company, a specialist finance firm, or a high-net-worth investor group. The word 'private' refers to the nature of the transaction: a direct, bilateral agreement between borrower and lender, negotiated privately rather than arranged through a public market.

Because private credit lenders are not subject to the same regulatory capital framework as banks, they can lend in situations banks cannot, move faster, accept more complex collateral, and price for deal-specific risk rather than applying blanket sector restrictions.

Private Credit vs a Bank Loan: The Key Differences

Speed: Bank credit process typically 8–14 weeks. Private credit: 2–4 weeks. For time-sensitive acquisitions or working capital crises, this is decisive.

Deal size: Banks are raising minimum commercial deal sizes. The $10M–$100M range is precisely the segment most systematically abandoned.

Structure: Banks apply standardised templates. Private credit lenders structure around your specific transaction, collateral profile, and cash flow cycle.

Sector access: Banks maintain growing excluded sector lists. Private credit lenders assess each transaction on its own merits.

Relationship: With a bank, your credit decision is made by a committee that has never met you. With private credit, you deal directly with the principals making the decision.

Covenants: Bank covenants are maintenance-based, tested regularly. Private credit covenants are incurrence-based, triggered only if you take a specific action. Significantly more business-friendly.

What Determines Private Credit Pricing?

Collateral quality and liquidity: The single most important pricing driver. Strong, liquid, easily realisable collateral commands significantly better pricing than illiquid or specialised assets.

Loan-to-value ratio: The lower the LTV relative to collateral value, the better the pricing.

Clarity of repayment source: A transaction with a clearly defined, contracted exit price better than one with a vague refinancing plan.

Business cash flow quality: Contracted, recurring revenues from creditworthy customers price better than project-based or lumpy cash flows.

Tenor: Shorter-term transactions typically price tighter than longer ones.

Jurisdiction: Markets with reliable contract enforcement and efficient security registration price better than those with legal uncertainty.

Deal complexity: Cross-border structures, complex ownership, and regulatory complications add to the cost of underwriting and are reflected in pricing.

Collateral Across Industries

Data centres and digital infrastructure: Physical infrastructure, long-term power purchase agreements, co-location and hyperscaler offtake contracts, land and building assets.

Power generation and energy: Project cash flows underpinned by PPAs, plant and equipment, land rights, environmental permits, and carbon credit streams.

Biofuels and sustainable fuels: Feedstock supply contracts, processing plant, product offtake agreements, carbon credits, and land assets.

Hospitality and hotels: Real property value, brand licence agreements, management contracts, forward booking revenues, and F&B income streams.

Manufacturing and industrial: Plant and equipment, real property, raw material inventory, finished goods, trade receivables, and export contracts.

Real estate development: Land value, development approvals, pre-sales contracts, construction contracts, and developer equity.

Healthcare and medical: Licensed premises, specialist equipment, patient receivables, insurance receivables, and long-term service agreements.

Logistics and supply chain: Warehousing assets, vehicle and equipment fleets, long-term client contracts, and cold chain infrastructure.

Agribusiness and food production: Land and plantation assets, processing facilities, equipment, harvest offtake agreements, and export contracts.

Operating companies generally: Trade receivables, inventory, intellectual property, cross-company guarantees, and personal guarantees from HNWI business owners.

The right private credit lender does not just provide capital. They provide certainty and in business, certainty of funding is often worth more than the cheapest rate. 

The Private Credit Process

Step 1: Initial conversation (Days 1–5)

A private credit lender will want to understand the business, the capital requirement, the repayment source, and the collateral available. Good private credit lenders form a preliminary credit view within days.

Step 2: Term sheet (Days 5–14)

If the lender has appetite, they issue a non-binding term sheet. Most terms are negotiable through direct dialogue.

Step 3: Due diligence (Weeks 2–4)

Financial, legal, and asset due diligence. Well-prepared borrowers with clean financials move through this stage quickly.

Step 4: Documentation (Weeks 3–5)

Documentation is negotiated directly between legal teams and can be completed in days for straightforward transactions.

Step 5: Funding (Weeks 4–6)

Once conditions precedent are satisfied, funds are drawn. For urgent transactions, some private credit lenders can move from first conversation to funding in under three weeks.

About GMG Capital Advisory

Donald Klip  |  Co-Founder, Global Mortgage Group  |  Head, GMG Capital Advisory

Donald Klip has 30 years of institutional finance experience spanning hedge fund management and senior roles at the world’s top global investment banks. GMG Capital Advisory specialises in arranging and structuring corporate debt financing of $10M–$100M for operating companies, asset owners, and project sponsors where conventional bank lending is unavailable, insufficient, or too slow. We operate across 23+ jurisdictions in Asia Pacific.

www.gmg.asia   |   [email protected]   |   +65 9773 0273   |   Singapore · Hong Kong 

The Debt Desk

Corporate private credit intelligence for Asia Pacific’s $10M–$100M middle market. Published by GMG Capital Advisory. Part of the Private Credit Asia content series.

www.gmg.asia   |   Read all 41 articles in the series

The specific regulatory, structural, and market forces driving corporate credit tightening in each major Asia Pacific market and what operating companies can do about it.

Published by

Donald Klip  |  Co-Founder, Global Mortgage Group  |  Head, GMG Capital Advisory

30 years of institutional finance. Former hedge fund founder. Senior roles at top global investment banks. GMG Capital Advisory arranges private credit and special situations finance of $10M–$100M for operating companies across Asia Pacific.

[email protected]   |   +65 9773 0273   |   Singapore · Hong Kong   |   Asia-Pacific  

The headline story that bank corporate lending is tightening across Asia Pacific is well understood by most CFOs and business owners who have tried to access or renew credit facilities in the past two years. What is less well understood are the specific forces at work in each market.

Bank credit tightening in Asia Pacific is not one story, it is fourteen stories with a common theme. Understanding the specific dynamics in your market is essential to navigating them.

Singapore

Singapore’s three major local banks DBS, OCBC, and UOB have responded to the Basel III and IV environment by prioritising three categories of business: wealth management and private banking, large institutional corporate and trade finance, and retail mortgages. The consequence for mid-market operating companies is that credit decisions are increasingly made at specialist credit business unit level, timelines have extended significantly, minimum ticket sizes have risen, and sector restrictions have expanded. Foreign-owned businesses and cross-border structures face particular scrutiny.

Australia

The Banking Royal Commission triggered a wholesale tightening of credit standards across Australia’s big four banks. They have since systematically reduced commercial lending exposure in favour of residential mortgages. Regional and rural businesses, hospitality, retail, and property development have been disproportionately affected.

Malaysia

Bank Negara Malaysia has implemented progressive tightening of provisioning requirements. Domestic banks have concentrated their corporate lending books on government-linked companies and large established corporations. Independent operating companies particularly those without GLC affiliations or with foreign ownership face significantly longer credit timelines and higher collateral requirements.

Indonesia

Indonesia’s banking system is dominated by state-owned banks that prioritise state-linked enterprises. Foreign ownership restrictions create structural barriers to collateral registration and enforcement that make domestic banks reluctant to lend to foreign-affiliated entities regardless of credit quality. Private credit arranged through offshore holding entities is often the only practical route.

Thailand

Thailand’s banking system is concentrated and centralised. The Land Code and Business of Foreigners Act create specific constraints on collateral registration for non-Thai entities. Private credit arranged through appropriate offshore structures has become the dominant financing channel for foreign-owned operating companies in Thailand.

Philippines

The Philippine banking system is dominated by family-controlled conglomerates whose affiliated banks prioritise lending within their own corporate ecosystems. Independent mid-market companies and foreign-owned businesses sit outside these ecosystems and face limited options, slow processes, and conservative terms.

India

India’s public sector banks accumulated enormous NPA books, triggering a prolonged period of extremely conservative corporate lending standards. Foreign-owned businesses and internationally structured entities face additional barriers: FEMA compliance requirements, RBI approval for certain cross-border debt structures, and domestic bank unfamiliarity with international corporate structures.

Japan

Japan’s banking system is characterised by keiretsu relationships. For businesses outside a keiretsu including virtually all foreign-owned or foreign-managed businesses the domestic banking system is effectively closed for meaningful corporate credit.

South Korea

Korea’s banking system allocates the majority of corporate credit to chaebol-affiliated companies and large domestic corporations. Mid-market independents particularly those without chaebol or government affiliations are chronically underserved.

Taiwan

Taiwan’s banking system prioritises government-linked and large corporate relationships. The export-oriented manufacturing and technology base that forms the backbone of the Taiwanese economy is chronically underfunded, particularly for cross-border expansion and international acquisition financing.

Hong Kong

Hong Kong’s banking system is overwhelmingly focused on real estate, trade finance, and large corporate lending. Mid-market operating company credit particularly for businesses without significant property collateral is difficult to access. Hong Kong is most valuable as a cross-border financing hub for businesses with offshore holding structures.

New Zealand

New Zealand’s four major banks are all subsidiaries of Australian parents and apply substantially similar credit frameworks. As the Australian parents have tightened, so have their New Zealand subsidiaries. Businesses outside agricultural and residential property sectors face increasing difficulty accessing corporate credit at meaningful scale.

What Operating Companies Should Do

The common thread across all markets is that mid-market operating companies particularly those with foreign ownership, cross-border structures, or operations in restricted sectors can no longer rely on domestic bank credit as their primary corporate financing channel. Private credit, arranged through experienced specialists with genuine regional presence, is the most effective alternative.

About GMG Capital Advisory

Donald Klip  |  Co-Founder, Global Mortgage Group  |  Head, GMG Capital Advisory

Donald Klip has 30 years of institutional finance experience spanning hedge fund management and senior roles at the world’s top global investment banks. GMG Capital Advisory specialises in arranging and structuring corporate debt financing of $10M–$100M for operating companies, asset owners, and project sponsors where conventional bank lending is unavailable, insufficient, or too slow. We operate across 23+ jurisdictions in Asia Pacific.

www.gmg.asia   |   [email protected]   |   +65 9773 0273   |   Singapore · Hong Kong 

The Debt Desk

Corporate private credit intelligence for Asia Pacific’s $10M–$100M middle market. Published by GMG Capital Advisory. Part of the Private Credit Asia content series.

www.gmg.asia   |   Read all 41 articles in the series

The structural gap in Asia Pacific corporate lending that leaves profitable, creditworthy businesses without access to the capital they need and what to do about it.

Published by

Donald Klip  |  Co-Founder, Global Mortgage Group  |  Head, GMG Capital Advisory

30 years of institutional finance. Former hedge fund founder. Senior roles at top global investment banks. GMG Capital Advisory arranges private credit and special situations finance of $10M–$100M for operating companies across Asia Pacific.

[email protected]   |   +65 9773 0273   |   Singapore · Hong Kong   |   Asia-Pacific  

There is a gap in the corporate lending market that most business owners and CFOs only discover at the worst possible moment when they need capital and cannot get it. The gap is not random. It is structural, predictable, and widening. And it sits precisely at the $10M–$100M range that represents the heartland of Asia Pacific’s operating company economy.

The $10M–$100M corporate borrower is too large to be served by SME products and too small to attract institutional capital. Private credit was built to serve exactly this market.

The Three Tiers of Corporate Lending

• Tier 1 — SME lending (below $5M): This market is well-served. Government guarantee schemes, fintech lenders, trade finance platforms, and standardised bank SME products all compete for this segment.
• Tier 2 — Institutional corporate lending (above $100M): Also well-served. Large corporates access syndicated loan markets, investment-grade bond markets, bilateral bank facilities with dedicated corporate banking coverage.
• Tier 3 — Mid-market (the gap: $10M to $100M): Systematically underserved. Too large for automated SME underwriting. Too small for syndicated markets. Too complex for standardised bank templates. Too unprofitable per unit of regulatory capital for banks under Basel III and IV constraints.

Why Banks Have Effectively Exited the Mid-Market

• Regulatory capital cost: Under Basel III and IV risk-weighting frameworks, corporate loans to mid-market businesses require banks to hold substantially more regulatory capital than retail mortgages or government securities.
• Origination cost: Mid-market corporate loans require significant credit analysis, relationship management, legal documentation, and ongoing monitoring. The cost of originating a $20M facility is not materially lower than a $200M facility.
• Covenant and monitoring complexity: Mid-market businesses are complex. Managing the ongoing compliance of a mid-market credit facility is operationally intensive relative to the revenue generated.
• Sector and concentration restrictions: As banks manage portfolio exposures more actively, sector and geographic concentration limits increasingly exclude entire categories of mid-market borrowers regardless of individual credit quality.

The Characteristics of a Mid-Market Lending Gap Borrower

• Revenue typically between $10M and $200M, with EBITDA generating meaningful but not institutional-scale debt capacity
• Profitable and operationally sound, with a track record of meeting obligations, but unable to satisfy increasingly conservative bank credit criteria
• Often owner-managed or family-controlled, with non-standard governance relative to listed company peers
• Frequently operating across multiple Asia Pacific jurisdictions, creating cross-border complexity that exceeds any single bank’s regional appetite
• Asset-rich relative to earnings significant real property, equipment, or contracted revenue streams that represent strong collateral but are assessed conservatively under bank frameworks

What Private Credit Offers the Mid-Market

• Deal-by-deal underwriting: Every transaction is assessed individually by an experienced credit team. No sector exclusion lists. No automated scoring models that cannot accommodate complexity.
• Speed: Without bank committee processes, private credit lenders can move from initial assessment to term sheet in days and from term sheet to funding in weeks.
• Structural flexibility: Private credit facilities are structured around the borrower’s specific situation: the collateral available, the cash flow profile, the repayment source.
• Appropriate pricing: Private credit carries a higher cost than bank lending. For mid-market borrowers who have been unable to access bank credit at any price, private credit pricing is not expensive; it is the market rate for capital they cannot otherwise access.

GMG Capital Advisory was built for the mid-market gap. Our $10M–$100M focus is not a positioning statement, it is a precise description of the market we serve because it is the market that needs us most.

About GMG Capital Advisory

Donald Klip  |  Co-Founder, Global Mortgage Group  |  Head, GMG Capital Advisory

Donald Klip has 30 years of institutional finance experience spanning hedge fund management and senior roles at the world’s top global investment banks. GMG Capital Advisory specialises in arranging and structuring corporate debt financing of $10M–$100M for operating companies, asset owners, and project sponsors where conventional bank lending is unavailable, insufficient, or too slow. We operate across 23+ jurisdictions in Asia Pacific.

www.gmg.asia   |   [email protected]   |   +65 9773 0273   |   Singapore · Hong Kong

The Debt Desk

Corporate private credit intelligence for Asia Pacific’s $10M–$100M middle market. Published by GMG Capital Advisory. Part of the Private Credit Asia content series.

www.gmg.asia   |   Read all 41 articles in the series 

How structural shifts in bank lending across Asia Pacific are creating a $10M–$100M corporate financing gap and why private credit has become the answer for operating companies, CFOs, and their advisors.

Published by

Donald Klip  |  Co-Founder, Global Mortgage Group  |  Head, GMG Capital Advisory

30 years of institutional finance. Former hedge fund founder. Senior roles at top global investment banks. GMG Capital Advisory arranges private credit and special situations finance of $10M–$100M for operating companies across Asia Pacific.

[email protected]   |   +65 9773 0273   |   Singapore · Hong Kong   |   Asia-Pacific 

Across Asia Pacific, a quiet but significant shift is underway in corporate lending. Operating companies that have maintained strong banking relationships for years profitable businesses with real assets and solid track records are finding that their banks can no longer serve them in the way they once did.

Facilities are being reduced. Renewals are being complicated. New credit requests are being declined. And in most cases, the businesses affected are doing nothing wrong. The problem is not on the borrower’s side of the table.

I have spent thirty years in institutional finance as a hedge fund founder, structuring transactions at the world’s top investment banks, and building cross-border lending operations across Asia Pacific. I have watched credit cycles from both sides of the table. What is happening right now to mid-market corporate borrowers across the region is structural, not cyclical. And most business owners and CFOs do not yet fully understand why.

When a bank pulls back from a creditworthy corporate borrower, the problem is almost always on the bank’s balance sheet, not the borrower’s.

Why Banks Are Pulling Back: The Regulatory Reality

Banks do not lend from a limitless pool of capital. Every corporate loan they make consumes regulatory capital, a financial buffer they are required by law to maintain against potential losses. When the cost of holding that capital rises, the economics of lending change fundamentally.

Since 2022, banks across Asia Pacific have faced a convergence of pressures that have made corporate lending to mid-sized operating companies significantly less attractive:

• Rising capital requirements under Basel III and Basel IV, increasing the regulatory cost of every corporate loan on the balance sheet
• Higher risk-weightings applied to commercial and corporate credit, making these loans more expensive to hold than retail mortgages or government securities
• Heightened scrutiny of non-performing loan ratios following post-COVID stress, prompting conservative provisioning across commercial loan books
• Margin pressure pushing banks toward higher-yielding retail products, wealth management, and large institutional mandates
• Sector and geographic concentration limits restricting new lending to entire industries or markets regardless of individual borrower quality

None of these pressures relate to the creditworthiness of individual corporate borrowers. They are systemic constraints reshaping bank lending behaviour across the entire region.

The Corporate Lending Gap: Why $10M–$100M Is No Man’s Land 

• Below $5M: The SME segment. Government-backed schemes, fintech lenders, and standardised bank products compete actively. Options are plentiful.
• Above $100M: The institutional segment. Syndicated loan markets, bond markets, and dedicated corporate banking divisions serve this tier. Capital is available.
• $10M to $100M: No man’s land. Too large for SME products. Too small to justify the full cost of a corporate banking relationship. Too complex for automated underwriting. Increasingly, too capital-intensive for a bank under tightening regulatory constraints.

A Timeline of Tightening

2020–2021: The COVID Accommodation

Central banks flooded markets with liquidity and regulators temporarily relaxed capital requirements. Banks were incentivised to lend broadly, including to borrowers that would not have passed pre-crisis credit committees.

2022: The Inflection Point

As inflation surged and central banks reversed course aggressively, the credit environment shifted with unusual speed. Banks began repricing risk, tightening covenants, and reviewing facilities approved under pandemic-era assumptions.

2023–2024: Structural Recalibration

Basel III finalisation timelines accelerated across major Asia Pacific jurisdictions. Mid-market corporate credit, high origination cost, high capital consumption, moderate yield became the first category to be deprioritised.

2025: The New Baseline

What looked initially like a cyclical tightening has proved structural. Banks have reorganised credit functions, raised minimum deal sizes, and redirected corporate banking resources toward larger, more profitable mandates.

The bank that served your business well for ten years has not changed its view of you. It has changed its view of the corporate lending market you operate in.

Market by Market: How the Tightening Is Playing Out

• Singapore: MAS-regulated banks have prioritised wealth management, trade finance, and large institutional mandates. Mid-market corporate credit is increasingly declined or routed to specialist subsidiaries with longer timelines and more restrictive terms.
• Australia: The big four banks have systematically reduced commercial lending appetite following the Banking Royal Commission. Corporate borrowers outside major metros face particular difficulty.
• Malaysia: Bank Negara Malaysia’s tighter provisioning requirements have pushed domestic banks toward government-linked corporations. Independent operating companies face longer credit timelines and higher collateral demands.
• Indonesia: Foreign-owned businesses face structural lending barriers regardless of credit quality. Domestic banks apply significant risk premiums to international entities.
• Thailand: Bangkok-headquartered banks dominate with limited appetite for foreign-owned or regionally-structured operating companies. Approval processes are slow and collateral frameworks inflexible.
• Philippines: Family-controlled banking conglomerates prioritise affiliated corporate groups. Independent mid-market businesses face limited credit options.
• South Korea: The chaebol-dominated banking system allocates the majority of corporate credit to large conglomerates. Mid-market independents are structurally underserved.
• Taiwan: A large and internationally active manufacturing and technology base is chronically underfunded by domestic banks.
• Japan: Foreign-owned businesses face significant structural barriers to domestic bank credit. Keiretsu banking relationships are effectively closed to outside participants.
• India: Post-NPA crisis provisioning requirements have constrained mid-market corporate lending significantly. Foreign-owned and internationally structured businesses face additional barriers.

Where Corporate Capital Has Moved: The Rise of Private Credit

As bank lending to mid-market corporates has contracted, private credit has grown substantially. Private credit assets under management in Asia Pacific exceeded $150 billion in 2024, having more than doubled over five years.

Private credit lenders operate outside the Basel regulatory framework that constrains banks. They can structure transactions that banks cannot, move faster, accept broader collateral packages, and serve corporate borrowers systematically deprioritised by the banking system.

This is the thesis behind The Debt Desk. Private credit in Asia Pacific is not a last resort for distressed borrowers. It is a structural financing solution that sophisticated corporates, CFOs, and their advisors are increasingly treating as the first call rather than the fallback.

What This Series Covers 

• Chapter 1 — The Corporate Lending Gap: The structural forces driving bank credit tightening and how private credit is filling the gap
• Chapter 2 — Deal Types Decoded: Bridge finance, acquisition funding, working capital, recapitalisation, rescue finance, and refinancing
• Chapter 3 — Market Guides: Country-by-country private credit intelligence across 14 Asia Pacific markets
• Chapter 4 — Industry Verticals: Sector-specific financing solutions across 11 industries
• Chapter 5 — The Borrower’s Playbook: What to prepare, what drives pricing, how to approach a lender
• Chapter 6 — GMG Perspective: Market outlook, trends, and the macro case for private credit in Asia Pacific

If you have a corporate financing requirement right now, do not wait for the series. Contact us directly.

About GMG Capital Advisory

Donald Klip  |  Co-Founder, Global Mortgage Group  |  Head, GMG Capital Advisory

Donald Klip has 30 years of institutional finance experience spanning hedge fund management and senior roles at the world’s top global investment banks. GMG Capital Advisory specialises in arranging and structuring corporate debt financing of $10M–$100M for operating companies, asset owners, and project sponsors where conventional bank lending is unavailable, insufficient, or too slow. We operate across 23+ jurisdictions in Asia Pacific.

www.gmg.asia   |   [email protected]   |   +65 9773 0273   |   Singapore · Hong Kong

The Debt Desk

Corporate private credit intelligence for Asia Pacific’s $10M–$100M middle market. Published by GMG Capital Advisory. Part of the Private Credit Asia content series. 

www.gmg.asia   |   Read all 41 articles in the series