European Investment Giant ICG Expands APAC Team with Hire of ARA Veteran Jae Choi

Just one year after setting up operation in Asia Pacific, London-based fund manager ICG is adding to its senior leadership team in Asia with the hire of investor relations and capital raising star Jae Choi.

A 20-year industry veteran, Choi joined ICG in Singapore last month as a managing director with the firm’s marketing and client relations team for Asia, and is expected to lead the firm’s efforts in marketing its real estate strategies to investors in the region, according to an internal announcement seen by Mingtiandi.

At ICG, which manages $80.2 billion in assets globally, Choi has been reunited with former co-workers David Kim and Steven Tang, who joined ICG in May 2022 from ARA Asset Management’s private funds division to lead the company’s real estate strategies for Asia Pacific.

Choi had served most recently as a managing director with ARA’s parent organisation, ESR Group, as well as working at head of capital markets for ARA.

Growth Plan

Originally specialising in credit investments in Europe, ICG has been expanding its strategies at the same time that it adds to its geographic footprint.

Having established $18.2 billion in AUM under its credit strategies, the firm has $53.8 billion in private equity AUM and $8.2 billion under its real assets division.

Just last week ICG’s Asia Pacific infrastructure unit completed a $50 million debut investment in renewable energy platform Amp India after establishing the specialist division in December of last year. The firm brought on board Devarshi Das, formerly CEO of Keppel Capital’s alternative asset division to run its infrastructure unit in APAC, along with a number other former Keppel executives.

In addition to infrastructure, ICG’s real assets division focuses on high yielding sectors including industrial and data centres, while investing both at the asset level and in platforms.

ARA Reunion

In addition to his four years at ARA and ESR (after the completion of their merger early last year), Choi spent five years with real estate private equity firm Forum Partners in Hong Kong, where he also served as a managing director.

Previously, the industry veteran also held management roles with Blackstone, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and GE Capital, after starting his career as a lawyer with Allens and later White & Case.

Kim and Tang continue to lead the Asia Pacific real estate business for London-listed ICG with the group having achieved 14 percent growth in AUM in the 12 months ending 31 March, and having notched record fund management profit before tax of £310.7 million ($386 million) – an increase of 9 percent compared to the same period a year earlier.