The development speaks to how the Southeast Asian nation, while facing a number of challenges, is seen by some investors as having promise for the medium term.

A new fund is being launched by a UK-authorised investment fund and consortium of business families from Cambodia to invest in the southeast Asian country. This comes at a time when neighbours such as Vietnam have already logged rapid growth, piquing interest in Southeast Asia’s investment opportunities.

Beryllus Capital (UK) Ltd and WorldBridge Group, the Cambodian business group, and a consortium of Cambodia’s business families have announced that they have signed a binding memorandum of understanding to establish the Beryllus Capital Mekong Growth Fund. 

The fund targets $200 million to $500 million of investments, leading eventually to more than $1 billion, a statement from the organisations said today.

WorldBridge is joined in the founding coalition by Neak Oknha Thay Cheahouth and Oknha Hieng Bunpeng of Peng Huoth Group, Oknha Thai Seang of TSNR Distribution Co, Neak Oknha Bun Hay of Borey Phnom Penh Thmey Co, and Neak Oknha Ly Hong of The Premier Angkor Palace Co. Further invitations are being extended to select Cambodian business families in the coming weeks, ahead of the fund’s first close.

The fund will invest across three complementary sleeves: growth and infrastructure assets in Cambodia, the Mekong corridor and the wider Southeast Asian region; global public markets, providing liquidity and diversification; and private equity and growth investments across the region and globally. 

The parties said the new venture will give Cambodia’s growing private wealth access, for the first time, to a globally regulated institutional investment platform, while positioning international investors, including sovereign wealth funds, development finance institutions and family offices, to co invest alongside Cambodia’s leading business families, the organisations said in their statement. 

The Asian Development Bank estimates that ASEAN requires approximately $210 billion of infrastructure investment annually through 2030.

Big potential, but challenges remain
Once ravaged by war, Cambodia has taken strides in recent years, although the economy faces challenges of surging energy prices, as noted by the World Bank in a report it issued in June this year. The WB noted that foreign direct investment (FDI) remains Cambodia’s “main resilience anchor”; FDI reached $5.1 billion, equating to slightly more than 10 per cent of gross domestic product, last year. The country has relied strongly on sectors such as textiles.

“Cambodia’s growth story deserves a world class investment platform of its own. WorldBridge is proud to lead this founding coalition of Cambodia’s most respected Oknha families, alongside Beryllus Capital, in creating a vehicle that channels the trust and ambition of our business community into a fund built to international standards,” Neak Oknha Sear Rithy, chairman, WorldBridge Group, said. 

WorldBridge Group was founded in 1992 by Neak Oknha Sear Rithy; the business group has interests spanning logistics, property development, industrial infrastructure, financial services and hospitality. 

Beryllus Capital is headquartered in London’s Mayfair district and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

On a related note, see this article on Southeast Asian business partnerships, which explores some of the dynamics in the region. Neighbouring country Vietnam was elevated in 2025 to the “emerging market” from “frontier” status by index provider FTSE Russell, opening the way for more investors to hold companies operating in the Southeast Asian nation.