BII Commits $803 million Worth Impact Investments in Asia The amount is significantly bigger than that of 2023 when BII invested GBP 245 million in Asian companies and a further GBP 225 million in businesses with operations spanning Asia and Africa.
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British International Investment, the UK's development finance institution and impact investor, has announced its commitment of GBP 626 million (USD 803 million) to Asian businesses in 2024 to support inclusive economic growth and combat the climate emergency.
The amount is significantly bigger than that of 2023 when BII invested GBP 245 million in Asian companies and a further GBP 225 million in businesses with operations spanning Asia and Africa. BII has said that the increase in investment was despite the difficult investment environment caused by macroeconomic headwinds.
BII's total net assets currently increased to GBP 9.9 billion up from GBP 8.5 billion in 2023, while post-tax profits improved to GBP 213.3m compared with a GBP 44 million loss in 2023. Globally BII invested GBP 1.75 billion in 2024. The figures are contained in BII's Annual Review, which was published today.
In total, BII invested USD 903 million in climate finance in 2024, 41 per cent of its overall commitments for the year. This compares with just USD 104 million in 2020. The company's climate finance assets now make up over 26 per cent of its entire portfolio, up from just over 15 per cent in 2020. Over the last three years, BII has invested over USD 2 billion in climate finance.
According to BII, based on all direct renewable energy investments in BII's 2023 portfolio, 1.5 million tons of CO2e emissions were avoided on an attributed basis, a 54 per cent year-on-year increase. This was driven by a growing renewable asset base in the portfolio and increases in the amount of renewable power produced.
Srini Nagarajan, Managing Director and Head of Asia at BII, said, "Our 2024 investment figures demonstrate our steadfast commitment to our Asian markets as we focus on delivering inclusive economic growth and meeting the challenge of the climate emergency. BII will continue to play a pivotal role in mobilising private capital, particularly for climate finance across South and South-East Asia."
BII also made GBP 499 million of gender finance commitments in 2024 and GBP 880 million of commitments to the poorer and most fragile countries across the regions where it invests.
