Beyond fundraising: What will define the next phase of private credit?

Across Asia Pacific, private credit is attracting more capital than ever. As the asset class grows, the more important question is no longer how much capital can be raised, but how effectively it can be deployed.

The Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA) projects regional private credit assets under management (AUM) to increase from USD59 billion in 2024 to USD92 billion by 2027.¹ As the asset class enters the mainstream, the focus is increasingly on origination, deployment, and underwriting discipline. 

The ability to source opportunities matters more than ever as competition intensifies. AIMA’s research also highlights that Asia Pacific is a highly fragmented market spanning more than 50 jurisdictions, with approximately 90% of transactions involving borrowers without private equity backing.²  

In a market characterised by diverse regulatory frameworks, fragmented borrower pools and largely sponsorless deal flow, access to opportunities is often shaped by local networks and market connectivity rather than broad auction processes alone. As a result, managers with established origination networks are better positioned to identify differentiated transactions and maintain selectivity in capital deployment.

But origination is only part of the equation. Underwriting discipline is equally critical. As the market becomes more competitive and deployment pressures rise, managers face a growing tension between putting capital to work and maintaining standards. According to PwC’s Global Private Credit Survey 2026, growing competition and pressure on returns are prompting managers to place greater emphasis on investment selection, performance, governance, and downside protection.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has similarly cautioned that rapid private credit growth, together with renewed pressure from banks, may weaken pricing, covenant protection, and underwriting discipline. In an opaque and relatively untested market, weaker covenants and looser underwriting may conceal deteriorating risk until losses surface abruptly through delayed valuations,³ tighter funding conditions, and broader spillovers across leveraged investors. In that environment, disciplined underwriting means more than demanding adequate spread; it requires applying rigorous underwriting standards even as competition for deals intensifies.

In this environment, success will be defined not by how much capital enters the market, but by how effectively managers can originate, deploy capital, and exercise underwriting discipline to generate differentiated returns.

Capital raising options have evolved well beyond the traditional choice between bank debt and equity. As private credit becomes a larger part of the financing landscape, businesses are gaining access to an increasingly sophisticated range of financing solutions, spanning hybrid instruments and bespoke capital structures tailored to different strategic objectives. This broader range of financing options creates new opportunities, but it also raises important questions. The challenge is no longer simply where funding comes from, but which type of capital best fits a company’s business model, growth plans, and risk profile. In many cases, the most effective route is not a standard bank loan, but a customised structure built around specific needs and objectives.

At PwC Singapore, we see this in practice. In a recent transaction, we advised a large conglomerate whose financing was spread across multiple operating and holding companies, lenders, security packages, and covenant structures, creating complexity and limiting financial flexibility. By restructuring the capital stack into a single facility at the holding company level, the group was able to unlock greater cash mobility and create additional flexibility to support future growth.

Increasingly, value is created by aligning funding structures with business objectives and long-term strategic priorities. As businesses seek more tailored financing solutions, the strength of the surrounding private credit market becomes just as significant as the availability of capital itself.

In turn, markets that can bring together the talent, expertise, and infrastructure needed to support private credit stand to gain an edge.  

Singapore is well placed to support this next phase of private credit growth. While capital, borrowers, and investment opportunities are spread across Asia Pacific, successful private credit ecosystems depend on specialist talent, structuring expertise, and strong institutional foundations.

Continued support through tax incentives⁴ and initiatives such as Singapore’s SGD1 billion Private Credit Growth Fund⁵ also points to the country’s broader effort to strengthen the local private credit market. Singapore's position as a regional hub for corporate headquarters, treasury centres, and financing decision-makers also gives it proximity to many businesses seeking financing solutions.

Singapore's opportunity is to play a broader role in the private credit ecosystem. Private credit now demands origination capabilities, structuring expertise, and disciplined deployment at scale, and the city-state can serve as the ecosystem where these strengths converge. Singapore's role in the next chapter for private credit will be defined by the value it helps create across the region, not just the capital it attracts.  

References
_{¹ Report highlights Asia-Pacific’s growing global private credit market, Alternative Investment Management Association, 4 November 2025.
² Ibid.
³ The Rise and Risks of Private Credit, International Monetary Fund, 16 April 2024. 
⁴ MAS Introduces Measures to Strengthen Singapore’s Competitiveness as a Leading Asset Management Hub, Monetary Authority of Singapore, 19 August 2026.
⁵ New financing solutions launched to drive enterprises’ next bound of growth, Enterprise Singapore, 6 March 2025.}