Private-credit managers like Ares Management are stepping into financing gaps across Asia-Pacific, offering alternative solutions amid bank retrenchment and regulatory shifts, with strategic focus on emerging markets and distressed assets.
This article, published by PERE News and sponsored by Ares Management, examines how private-credit managers are filling financing gaps across Asia-Pacific as banks pull back and regulatory constraints reshape lending markets. Edwin Wong, head of Asia credit at Ares, and Dinesh Goel, partner for Asia special situations, outline where they see demand, how they underwrite risk and which jurisdictions currently offer the most compelling risk-adjusted returns.
Wong says the opportunity stems in part from the limits of bank lending frameworks. “Banks are often process-driven, plus there are constraints within their regulatory frameworks, which leaves room for private credit specialists to step in.” He notes that over the past decade private credit firms have increased direct participation in real estate financing across the region, offering alternatives to bank-dominated markets.
Goel points to broad structural growth that supports sustained real estate demand. “Emerging and developing Asia is projected by the International Monetary Fund to grow at 5 percent this year, underpinning sustained demand across residential, office, retail and logistics sectors.” Ares cites recent transactions to illustrate its approach, including leading a $215 million debt raising for Bengaluru developer Century Real Estate and the acquisition and subsequent resolution of a portfolio of distressed loans from Altico Capital in India.
Ares frames its Asia strategy around two complementary pillars: private credit for senior, collateral-backed financing and a special situations franchise that targets more complex, solution-oriented assignments. “Special situations are structured around absolute returns rather than floating-rate spreads, making them less sensitive to rate movements while preserving downside protection,” Goel says. The firm emphasises downside protection via real estate collateral and extensive local due diligence as core risk mitigants.
The firm identifies logistics, multifamily and commercial assets as long-term themes, with particular opportunity in markets it regards as underinvested relative to demand growth, India, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and certain Chinese tiers. On China, Wong cautions that recovery is still policy-driven and that, while “we are starting to see green shoots emerge in Tier 1 cities,” Ares is awaiting further stabilisation before committing significant capital to senior real estate lending there.
Greater near-term opportunity is seen where bank retrenchment is most acute. “Hong Kong presents an exceptionally compelling and virtually unprecedented opportunity set,” Wong says, citing high interest rates, a softer economy and banks reducing risk as drivers of demand for inventory and construction financing and for specialist mortgage portfolios. Goel adds that Korea and India also offer differentiated dealflow, Korea for large corporate groups with quality real estate collateral, India for a market rendered more investible by regulatory reforms such as the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act.
Public materials from Ares’ own platforms underscore the scale behind these claims. According to Ares Management’s website, its global Credit Group managed roughly $391.5 billion of assets as of 30 September 2025, while the Real Estate division reported about $109.5 billion under management and more than 700 investment and operating professionals worldwide. The APAC Credit and Special Situations franchises are presented as sizeable, locally based teams that originate and structure transactions across cycles.
Wong and Goel emphasise operational capability and selectivity as decisive advantages. Ares describes an expanded Asia credit footprint, dozens of investment professionals across multiple offices, and a disciplined origination process with low single-digit selectivity. They argue that capital scale, coupled with local origination reach and structuring experience, enables the firm to offer one-stop or bespoke solutions for borrowers while protecting investor returns.
While the interview projects a sustained role for private capital in Asia real estate credit, the firm couches its conclusions in caution on timing and market variation, noting that opportunities differ markedly by jurisdiction, asset type and policy backdrop. As Ares enlarges its Asia presence, the message is that private credit can close structural financing gaps left by banks, but success will hinge on collateral discipline, local intelligence and the ability to execute tailored financing across fluctuating cycles.
- https://www.perenews.com/ares-management-on-how-private-capital-is-stepping-in-where-banks-ease-off/ – Please view link – unable to able to access data
- https://www.aresmgmt.com/our-business/credit – Ares Management’s Credit Group is a leading manager of credit strategies across the global credit universe, with approximately $391.5 billion of assets under management as of September 30, 2025. The group offers a range of illiquid and liquid credit and hybrid investment solutions, including U.S. and European Direct Lending, Syndicated Loans, High Yield Bonds, Multi-Asset Credit, Alternative Credit, Opportunistic Credit, APAC Private Credit, and APAC Special Situations. Ares is one of the largest self-originating direct lenders to the U.S. and European middle markets, with a growing presence in the Asia Pacific region, providing one-stop financing solutions for small-to-medium sized companies, which are increasingly underserved by traditional bank lenders. The team emphasizes direct origination of investment opportunities and takes a hands-on approach to make direct investments in Asia Pacific, providing flexible capital solutions to investee companies and targeting attractive risk-adjusted returns for investors. They benefit from the local experience and deep network of business relationships of their highly experienced and cohesive management team in origination, due diligence, structuring, and post-investment value-add. As of September 30, 2025, the APAC Private Credit strategy manages a portfolio of debt obligations, unitranche securities, and other credit instruments, generating fixed income returns with a significant cash coupon component. The APAC Special Situations strategy focuses on credit opportunities with strong downside protection and equity-like returns, providing scaled, private solutions for large, performing businesses as an alternative to the region’s structurally inefficient banks and shallow capital markets.
- https://www.aresmgmt.com/our-business/credit/apac-credit – Ares Management’s APAC Credit division is one of the largest credit-focused alternative investment managers in the Asia Pacific region. Leveraging a broad geographical footprint and extensive infrastructure, the team has invested through multiple economic cycles in Asia Pacific. They target credit, private equity, and special situations investments through a local originating presence across Asia Pacific on behalf of their institutional client base. The APAC Special Situations strategy focuses on credit opportunities with strong downside protection and equity-like returns, providing scaled, private solutions for large, performing businesses as an alternative to the region’s structurally inefficient banks and shallow capital markets. The APAC Private Credit strategy targets high-quality privately sourced loans in high-quality businesses across the region, primarily investing in sponsor-backed and asset-backed transactions, as well as non-sponsor corporate lending, leveraging deep relationships and coverage to enable direct origination. The APAC Private Credit team manages a portfolio of debt obligations, unitranche securities, and other credit instruments, generating fixed income returns with a significant cash coupon component.
- https://www.aresmgmt.com/our-business/real-estate – Ares Management’s Real Estate division manages comprehensive public and private, equity and debt strategies, with approximately $109.5 billion of assets under management as of September 30, 2025. The global real estate team has extensive geographic, sector, and structuring experience with approximately 700+ investment and operating professionals across 44 offices in the Americas, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. Backed by a vertically integrated platform, demonstrated track record, tenured team, thematic investment approach, access to proprietary deal flow, and synergies with the broader Ares platform, they are able to identify and execute on attractive opportunities with compelling risk-reward profiles. The Real Estate division focuses on major property types and adjacent sectors that have value creation opportunities, located in liquid markets with diversified economies.
- https://www.aresmgmt.com/our-business/private-equity – Ares Management’s Private Equity Group seeks attractive risk-adjusted investment returns for a diversified and growing group of high-profile limited partners, with approximately $25.1 billion of assets under management as of September 30, 2025. The group primarily offers significant influence or control-oriented capital solutions to companies in North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific. Investment professionals have demonstrated an ability to actively deploy capital in a disciplined manner in both benign and dislocated market environments. The teams focus on helping drive shared long-term success for portfolio companies, limited partners, and shareholders, while also emphasizing strong downside protection.
- https://www.aresmgmt.com/our-business/credit/apac-credit – Ares Management’s APAC Credit division is one of the largest credit-focused alternative investment managers in the Asia Pacific region. Leveraging a broad geographical footprint and extensive infrastructure, the team has invested through multiple economic cycles in Asia Pacific. They target credit, private equity, and special situations investments through a local originating presence across Asia Pacific on behalf of their institutional client base. The APAC Special Situations strategy focuses on credit opportunities with strong downside protection and equity-like returns, providing scaled, private solutions for large, performing businesses as an alternative to the region’s structurally inefficient banks and shallow capital markets. The APAC Private Credit strategy targets high-quality privately sourced loans in high-quality businesses across the region, primarily investing in sponsor-backed and asset-backed transactions, as well as non-sponsor corporate lending, leveraging deep relationships and coverage to enable direct origination. The APAC Private Credit team manages a portfolio of debt obligations, unitranche securities, and other credit instruments, generating fixed income returns with a significant cash coupon component.
- https://www.aresmgmt.com/our-business/credit – Ares Management’s Credit Group is a leading manager of credit strategies across the global credit universe, with approximately $391.5 billion of assets under management as of September 30, 2025. The group offers a range of illiquid and liquid credit and hybrid investment solutions, including U.S. and European Direct Lending, Syndicated Loans, High Yield Bonds, Multi-Asset Credit, Alternative Credit, Opportunistic Credit, APAC Private Credit, and APAC Special Situations. Ares is one of the largest self-originating direct lenders to the U.S. and European middle markets, with a growing presence in the Asia Pacific region, providing one-stop financing solutions for small-to-medium sized companies, which are increasingly underserved by traditional bank lenders. The team emphasizes direct origination of investment opportunities and takes a hands-on approach to make direct investments in Asia Pacific, providing flexible capital solutions to investee companies and targeting attractive risk-adjusted returns for investors. They benefit from the local experience and deep network of business relationships of their highly experienced and cohesive management team in origination, due diligence, structuring, and post-investment value-add. As of September 30, 2025, the APAC Private Credit strategy manages a portfolio of debt obligations, unitranche securities, and other credit instruments, generating fixed income returns with a significant cash coupon component. The APAC Special Situations strategy focuses on credit opportunities with strong downside protection and equity-like returns, providing scaled, private solutions for large, performing businesses as an alternative to the region’s structurally inefficient banks and shallow capital markets.
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The draft above was created using the information available at the time the story first
emerged. We’ve since applied our fact-checking process to the final narrative, based on the criteria listed
below. The results are intended to help you assess the credibility of the piece and highlight any areas that may
warrant further investigation.
Freshness check
Score:
8
Notes:
The article was published on 2 February 2026. A search for similar narratives revealed no substantially similar content published within the past seven days. However, the article is sponsored by Ares Management, which may indicate a press release or promotional content.
Quotes check
Score:
6
Notes:
Direct quotes from Edwin Wong and Dinesh Goel are included. However, no independent verification of these quotes was found in the available sources.
Source reliability
Score:
5
Notes:
The article is published by PERE News and sponsored by Ares Management. While PERE News is a specialist publication, the sponsorship by Ares Management raises concerns about potential bias and independence.
Plausibility check
Score:
7
Notes:
The claims about Ares Management’s activities in Asia-Pacific align with known industry trends and Ares’ previous investments in the region. However, the lack of independent verification and the potential promotional nature of the content reduce the overall confidence.
Overall assessment
Verdict (FAIL, OPEN, PASS): FAIL
Confidence (LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH): MEDIUM
Summary:
The article presents claims about Ares Management’s activities in Asia-Pacific, but the lack of independent verification, potential bias due to sponsorship, and the promotional nature of the content raise significant concerns about its credibility.