Bintang Capital Partners impressed the Environmental Finance Sustainable Company Awards judges with the "very robust governance and policies [it has] in place to be a sustainable company and uphold its B Corporation status."

The judges commented on how "the company holds the assets in its portfolio to a high ESG performance standard and is focused on transparency" and that its "JEDI (justice, equity, diversity and inclusion) metrics...have strong social equity considerations in place."

Bintang says it became the first B Corp-certified private equity firm in Southeast Asia in May 2023. As an early Malaysian private sector signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UN PRI), it also signed up to the Impact Principles in 2022.

It currently stands as the only Malaysian signatory to Global Impact Investing Network's (GIIN) Operating Principles for Impact Management (Impact Principles).

The company aims to create 150 B Corporation-certified companies by 2050. It requires all investee companies in its first blind-pool fund (BCP Asia Fund I) to obtain B Corp Certification within two years of investment, saying it hopes that B Corporations created in Southeast Asia will pave the way for other companies in the region.

A blind-pool fund is an investment fund in which the investors do not know what type of business activity or companies they are investing in. The BCP Asia Fund, which closed in June 2022 and was backed by the Malaysian Ministry of Finance, is presently 70% deployed.

Johan Rozali-Wathooth, CEO at Bintang Capital Partners commented: "This award also recognises our team's commitment and hard work to our vision: each of us took a giant leap of faith when we struck out as pioneers and trailblazers in building a private equity impact investing ecosystem within Southeast Asia since our founding in 2018.

"We deeply believe that responsible capitalism must be the way forward for future generations: and this can only be achieved by inculcating an investing mindset that combines purpose, people, and planet to underpin the generation of ethical profit through innovative solutions.

"The Bintang team dedicates this award in memory of our colleague, Derek Yin, whose passion for impact and unwavering dedication to Bintang's values continue to inspire us each day."