Circulate Capital Secures HSBC Green Loan Facility to Accelerate Circular Economy Investments Across South and Southeast Asia

Circulate Capital, a leading dedicated circular economy investment manager focused on high-growth global markets, has entered into a revolving green loan facility with HSBC to advance circular economy investments across South and Southeast Asia. The facility is structured under the Asia Pacific Loan Market Association's Green Loan Principles, ensuring proceeds are specifically earmarked to fund projects advancing the circular economy through scalable packaging, recycling and materials businesses. The announcement follows the successful March 2026 first close of Circulate Capital Ocean Fund II at $220 million, already surpassing the scale of its predecessor and reaching over 70 percent of its $300 million target.

 

Strategic Purpose and Operational Flexibility

 

The revolving credit facility provides Circulate Capital with flexible liquidity to support investment activities and working capital needs, designed to scale in size as the fund grows and extendable in duration as required. By leveraging the facility ahead of traditional limited partner capital calls, the firm can act with increased agility when investment opportunities arise in target markets across India, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia.

This speed advantage is particularly important in competitive emerging market deal environments where the ability to commit capital quickly can determine whether high-quality transactions are secured. The institutional-grade financial structure enables more decisive capital deployment across target markets, supporting portfolio companies to scale while delivering robust returns that demonstrate the mutual reinforcement of impact and profitability.

 

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Executive Perspectives and Partnership Rationale

 

Regula Schegg, Founding Partner, CFO and CCO at Circulate Capital, said the facility enables the firm to move at the pace required to capitalise on impactful transactions in the market, with highly efficient access to capital that strategically benefits investors. She described the partnership with HSBC as validation of the firm's investment thesis and expressed confidence in the opportunities ahead across target markets.

Gilbert Ng, Head of Banking at HSBC Singapore Corporate and Institutional Banking, said banks have a key role in unlocking capital for real-economy impact given that funding remains a barrier for many sustainability initiatives across the region. He said HSBC is pleased to support Circulate Capital with the revolving green loan facility and looks forward to continued partnership as the firm mobilises finance for scalable circular economy solutions.

 

Asia's Circular Economy Challenge and Fund Focus

 

Asia Fund II targets high-impact investments across six countries with a focus on plastic packaging, electronics and apparel, three of the highest-volume waste-generating product categories in the region. South and Southeast Asia face significant circular economy challenges where rapid economic growth has driven substantial increases in material consumption without corresponding investment in collection, sorting and recycling infrastructure.

Capital flowing into scalable businesses across the circular supply chain is essential for building the infrastructure needed to close material loops at meaningful scale. The APLMA Green Loan Principles alignment provides a recognised governance framework that gives investors and stakeholders confidence that the facility proceeds are being directed toward genuine circular economy outcomes, addressing greenwashing concerns that continue to shape investor and regulatory expectations across the region.

 

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APLMA Framework and Market Significance

 

Structured green loan facilities of this type are increasingly important for demonstrating the integrity of sustainability claims in an environment where regulatory expectations around green finance labelling are tightening across Asia Pacific. Soumitro Mukerji, Partner at DLA Piper, who advised HSBC on the transaction, said the structure ensures funding is directed toward solutions addressing the region's most pressing environmental challenges while enabling greater speed and scale of investment. He described the facility as demonstrating how financial innovation can drive meaningful, measurable impact at scale.

The APLMA framework also creates a template that could be replicated across other circular economy fund managers seeking institutional credit facilities. As dedicated thematic managers grow in the circular economy space and as Asian financial regulators continue to develop green finance taxonomies, demand for structured facilities aligned to recognised principles is expected to increase. Banks with the capability to structure these instruments for specialist investment managers are positioned to capture growing business in the sustainable finance segment.

 

Outlook for Circular Economy Finance in Asia

 

The Circulate Capital and HSBC facility reflects growing institutional appetite for structured finance instruments that combine commercial returns with measurable circular economy impact. As mandatory sustainability disclosure requirements expand across Asia Pacific and corporate procurement teams face increasing pressure to demonstrate supply chain circularity, demand for capital in the circular economy sector is expected to grow significantly. Investment managers with dedicated circular economy mandates and proven deal pipelines are well positioned to attract both equity capital and complementary credit facilities as this market matures.

Whether Circulate Capital can deploy the combined equity and credit capital at the pace and quality required to reach its $300 million fund target will determine the broader commercial validation of the circular economy investment thesis in Asia. Sustained execution would reinforce the firm's positioning as the leading dedicated circular economy manager in the region and strengthen the case for similar vehicles across other high-growth emerging markets. The convergence of regulatory pressure, corporate sustainability demand and growing investor interest creates structurally favourable conditions for continued capital formation in this segment.

 

Source: Circulate Capital