China Development Bank, one of the country’s largest state-owned banks, is emerging as an increasingly active overseas investor, using its $10bn CDB capital fund to take stakes in private equity and hedge funds.
In its latest move, the CDB fund is seeking to expand its experience and intellectual property associated with lending to small and medium-sized companies, a market banks have never felt comfortable with due to the risk of default.
According to people close to the situation, CDB, through its fund, is set to become a cornerstone investor in MP Pacific Harbor Capital, an Asian credit fund that lends to SMEs across Asia in which New York hedge fund MatlinPatterson is partnering with local lender Pacific Harbor.