Samena Capital has launched its first Asia bond fund, to be managed in a joint venture with Argyle Street Management, an Asian debt specialist established in 2002.

Following its recent acquisition of Vision Asia Pacific and the launch of its Japan Fund, the Asia bond fund sees Samena Capital further expand its presence in Asia, and broaden its product range.

The Cayman-registered fund will be seeded with USD70m to invest in quality corporate issuance in Asia.
 
Argyle Street Management chairman V-Nee Yeh (pictured), who is also one of the founder shareholders of Samena Capital, says: “The prospects for the Samena ASM Asia Bond Fund are extremely bright. The proprietary sourcing capabilities of the two firms coupled with a good understanding of horizontal complexities of Asia investing, makes the joint venture an exciting and unique value proposition. We’re looking to take advantage of the equity like returns now available on debt issued by well-known Asian corporates, and to leverage our deep knowledge of the market to create visible, superior performance through an unbeatable risk-reward structure which only an informed bond investor can deliver.”
 
Shirish Saraf, president and founder of Samena Capital, adds: “The Samena ASM Asia Bond Fund is another example of the upside potential in our collective investing model. The insight and access provided by our valuepreneur shareholders across the SAMENA region helps us identify the real opportunities at what feels like an inflection point for global markets, a point at which well-advised investors can enjoy unusually high returns for the relatively low risk of a debt investment. This same insight and access is already delivering strong double-digit returns on our flagship Samena Special Situations Fund within a year of its initial close, and is making all four of our funds preferred providers of capital to entrepreneurial businesses across our target markets.”
 
The fund will be marketed primarily at institutional and high net worth investors in the SAMENA region and Europe. The minimum investment permitted in the fund is USD1,000,000 in an open-ended structure.