Keppel Ltd.’s newly announced partnership with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) marks a significant milestone in the Asia Pacific region’s pursuit of sustainable infrastructure development.
The Strategic Partnership Agreement, signed on June 25, 2025, aims to mobilise up to $1.5 billion over the next five years to finance and co-develop projects that support green energy, digital infrastructure, and urban services across developing economies in the region.
While the agreement will not materially impact Keppel’s current financial year earnings, its strategic significance far outweighs short-term financials, positioning Keppel and AIIB at the forefront of Asia’s transition to a low-carbon, connected, and resilient infrastructure ecosystem.
The partnership leverages Keppel’s multi-asset investment platforms and development expertise, along with AIIB’s capacity for long-term capital deployment via debt and equity instruments.
Together, they will co-invest in infrastructure assets across priority sectors including:
- Renewable energy
- Power transmission and distribution
- Digital infrastructure
- Transportation and urban services
This covers a broad landscape of critical assets, addressing what Christina Tan, Keppel’s Chief Investment Officer, describes as “the urgent demands of a growing and rapidly urbanising population.”
Indeed, the Asian Development Bank estimates Asia Pacific’s infrastructure gap to exceed $1.7 trillion annually through 2030.
Mobilising private capital into infrastructure, particularly green and tech-enabled, has become essential as governments alone cannot shoulder the investment burden.
The initiative is aligned with AIIB’s 2021–2030 Corporate Strategy, which emphasizes green infrastructure, regional connectivity, and private capital mobilisation.
It is also in sync with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and ASEAN member states’ commitments to energy transition and digital inclusion.
The partnership will focus especially on developing economies across Southeast Asia, South Asia, and parts of the Pacific, where infrastructure bottlenecks continue to hinder inclusive growth and climate resilience.
Rajat Misra, Acting Chief Investment Officer at AIIB, reaffirmed this strategic focus, stating, “This agreement reflects AIIB’s continued commitment to partnering with leading institutions to finance infrastructure that is green, technology-enabled and regionally connected.”
For Keppel, the agreement is a logical next step in its evolution from a Singapore-based conglomerate to a global asset manager and sustainable infrastructure operator.
The firm has spent the past decade repositioning itself with major initiatives in clean energy, smart cities, and connectivity solutions, and has already collaborated with AIIB across multiple fund strategies and asset classes.
The partnership is also a strong signal to investors and LPs in Keppel’s private funds: that institutional co-investors like AIIB see value in its infrastructure pipeline, execution capabilities, and ESG alignment.
As Southeast Asia and its neighbors navigate the post-pandemic recovery, energy transition, and rapid urbanisation, the Keppel–AIIB partnership offers a scalable model for crowding in capital toward impactful projects.
It goes beyond traditional lending by integrating development expertise, investment management, and institutional trust, a combination needed to unlock infrastructure at scale.
With $1.5 billion in targeted deployments through 2030, the partnership could catalyze multiple flagship projects that define Asia Pacific’s green growth trajectory.
It also affirms that public-private partnerships remain central to solving the region’s infrastructure challenges, particularly when anchored by aligned capital, clear mandates, and long-term vision.
Business News Asia