Trinity plans Bangkok office

The fund, which was launched last year and is managed by Trinity Structure and Finance, has a representative office in Phnom Penh and is about to open offices in Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City.
Oliver Smith, chief investment officer, said yesterday that as a sign of Trinity’s commitment to the fund and its investors, Trinity would maintain a minimum 20-per-cent stake throughout the life of the fund.
Backed by a team of professionals with more than two decades of experience in securities, investment banking and corporate consulting, Trinity, in conjunction with Hong Kong-based Trinity Investment Partners, acquires 100-per-cent equity interest in companies holding fixed assets, with a focus on real estate.
The group’s investment strategy identifies companies looking to undertake a corporate restructure and capitalises on the dislocation in value arising from structural inefficiencies.
“We acquire the companies and their assets after intensive due diligence, remove any inefficiencies and realise those assets once the inefficiencies are removed for potential capital gains,” Smith said.
While increasingly liberalised, the investment markets of Southeast Asia have complex and sometimes drawn out processes for securing the repatriation of capital.
“The markets are naturally reluctant to see capital outflows and while they don’t restrict it, the processes can be time consuming and difficult.
“With our professional team, we understand tricky investment strategy,” he said.

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Trinity can also help companies that want a timely and clean exit from the market. In normal cases, that would take about three to five years, but Trinity could do it in about one to two years. Trinity has local partners to work out the complicated process of laws and regulations in each country in the region.
This year Trinity launched Trinity Investment Partners, with the closing fund secured. The second closing is slated for year-end.
“Now, we have about US$30 million [Bt925 million] in total value.”
The value of each transaction, for which a fund will be established to invest in, is in the range of $5 million-$15 million. Trinity targets four to five transactions in the region this year, but could not say which transaction would happen in which country. Trinity has never done any transaction in Thailand, but there is high potential, as there are many Thai companies that have a lot of fixed assets and infrastructure.
“We target 15-20 per cent for the annual rate of return on investment,” he said added.