AP Moller Holding, the investment company that controls shipping group AP Moller-Maersk, is opening an office in Singapore to back fast-growing companies across Asia. The office, which opens this week, is the firm’s first outside Denmark.
The holding company is funded entirely by the billionaire Maersk family and has no outside investors. It reports net assets of more than US$50 billion. Chetan Mehta, its head of growth investing, will run the new Asia office. The firm typically takes minority stakes of between €20 million and €80 million, and it looks at companies from the Series C stage through to initial public offerings and beyond, including businesses that are already listed.
Its target list is broad. In terms of sectors, the firm is focusing on applied technology, such as AI used in supply chains, as well as fintech, healthcare and robotics. Geographically, it is looking at China, India, South-East Asia, Australia and New Zealand. “Asia is at the forefront of global innovation,” Mehta said, explaining the decision to put people on the ground in the region rather than investing from Copenhagen.
The move builds on a portfolio that already reaches well beyond shipping. In Europe, AP Moller Holding has invested in Doctolib, the French online healthcare platform, Iceye, the Finnish satellite maker, and Revolut, the UK fintech group. In 2024 it led an €80 million equity round for UK neo-bank Zopa. It is also the largest shareholder in Danske Bank. Mehta argued that the firm’s structure gives it an edge with founders who need patient backing. “We are investing our own money without a hard exit deadline nor fund life,” he said, adding that this flexibility lets the firm support companies over longer periods than a typical venture fund.
The Singapore office gives the Maersk family’s investment arm a direct presence in some of the fastest-growing technology markets in the world, at a time when it is already writing large cheques in Europe. With no fixed fund term, no external investors to answer to and a clear ticket size, the firm can move on deals at its own pace. For a family best known for container shipping, the Asia office is another sign of how much of its capital now goes into technology, healthcare and financial services. The next signal to watch will be its first Asian investments, which will show which of its target sectors and countries the new team decides to prioritise.
