EQT Infrastructure Chief: Asia Is Private Capital's "Hidden Gem"

What's New

In a recent Alt Goes Mainstream The DNA podcast interview, Ken Wong—Partner and Head of Asia Pacific Infrastructure at EQT—makes the case that applying private equity operational playbooks to infrastructure assets in developed Asia generates equity-like returns in a market that remains dramatically underpenetrated relative to Western counterparts.

Why It Matters

As geopolitical realignment and supply chain reshoring redirect capital flows toward Asia, infrastructure investors face a rare window: developed Asian markets offer risk profiles comparable to Europe and the US, but with significantly more growth runway and proprietary deal access through relationship-based origination.

Big Picture Drivers

• Underpenetration: Infrastructure investing in Asia lags private equity penetration, which itself trails Western markets substantially

• Thematic convergence: AI buildout, decarbonization mandates, and electrification create compounding demand for digital and energy infrastructure

• Cultural access: EQT's Wallenberg heritage unlocks deals with Korean chaebols and Japanese corporates that would otherwise remain closed to Western capital

• Policy tailwinds: Japan's TSE reforms pressuring sub-book-value companies and India's structured renewable frameworks are opening previously inaccessible opportunities

• Supply chain proximity: Asian infrastructure projects scale faster due to proximity to solar, battery, and manufacturing supply chains

By The Numbers

• 3 to 50: Investment professionals EQT added in Australia over five years

• $10B: Deals completed in Asia Pacific during that growth period

• 60%: Share of global population living in Asia

• 5 GW: Renewable capacity built at O2 Power India from near-zero in five years

• 300: Employees O2 Power scaled to from a handful during EQT ownership

Memorable Quotes

• On active ownership: "If you manage a company like a bond, you'll get bond-like returns."

• On transparency: "You can do the occasional bad deal...but what we have zero tolerance for is a lack of transparency."

• On culture transmission: "The first thing they'll always say is, 'Wow, it's different here.'"

• On junior empowerment: "We always ask the most junior person to speak first...you better have an answer because you're going to get caught up right from the start."

• On the Wallenberg advantage: "You go to Korea, you ask any business person, do you know who the Wallenbergs are? And they absolutely do."

Key Trends to Watch

• Japanese corporate openness to foreign capital is accelerating following TSE reforms and the landmark 7-Eleven takeover approach

• AI data center buildout is creating convergent demand for both digital infrastructure and renewable energy capacity across the region

• Proprietary deal flow advantages will compound as EQT's relationship-based origination model matures in Korea and Japan

• Infrastructure asset class growth in Asia will likely remain undercapitalized relative to opportunity for at least another decade

The Wrap

Wong's five-year scaling of EQT's Asia infrastructure business from three people to 50—and $10 billion in deployed capital—demonstrates that the combination of private equity operational intensity, Wallenberg family credibility, and bicultural local teams can unlock infrastructure opportunities that pure financial investors simply cannot access, positioning Asia as the highest-alpha frontier in global infrastructure.