The Malaysian financial services firm is launching the private equity fund in conjunction with investment units connected to the World Bank and US government, and will prioritise power generation infrastructure.

Malaysia-based financial services firm Maybank launched a $500m private equity fund in conjunction with its regional subsidiary, Maybank MEACP of Singapore, on November 15, to invest in clean technology in Asia.

The fund will be made up of two separate vehicles: a $350m Master fund, which will be supported by Maybank, the Asian Development Bank and the International Finance Corporation, a subsidiary of the World Bank; and a $150m co-financing vehicle supported by the US government-backed Overseas Private Investment Corporation.

The fund, the first cleantech fund to be backed by a South East Asian bank, will focus on power generation infrastructure projects using renewable sources. The fund will have a first close of $87.5m, $50m of which will be provided by Maybank.

Tengku Dato’ Zafrul Tengky Aziz, chief executive of Maybank Investment Bank, said: "This fund is a 10-year private equity fund that will invest in a diversified portfolio of clean energy projects in the Asia-Pacific region with a focus on China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos."