New Forests’ Tropical Asia Forest Fund 2 continues to expand portfolio in Southeast Asia through investment in Burapha Agro-Forestry
SINGAPORE: 29 April 2025 – New Forests, a global investment manager of nature-based real assets and natural capital strategies, is today announcing its Tropical Asia Forest Fund 2 (TAFF2) has acquired a majority interest in Burapha Agro-Forestry (Burapha), a timber plantation forestry company in Laos.
The investment was led by New Forests, with co-investment from Mirova through its Sustainable Land Use strategy. This marks the third acquisition for New Forests’ TAFF2 strategy.
Burapha comprises 6,000 hectares (ha) of planted forest combined with conservation areas, a plywood mill, and a voluntary carbon project focused on plantation afforestation, reforestation, and revegetation (ARR) issuing carbon credits compliant with Verra standards since 2023.
The Burapha acquisition is part of New Forests’ strategy to develop an integrated and scaled investment allocation in Laos which currently includes two companies: Burapha and Mekong Timber Plantations. As a result of the acquisition, TAFF2 now has access to close to 85,000 ha, with approximately 15,000 ha of planted area.
New Forests sees significant scope for expansion of Burapha’s plantation forest areas, as well as the ability to build out the voluntary carbon project that has already been developed and implemented. New Forests will work with Burapha to enhance the socio-economic benefits for local communities.
Geoffrey Seeto, Senior Managing Director, New Forests Asia said, “We are delighted to be growing our allocation to Laos through this investment in Burapha Agro-Forestry, which is already highly regarded for its agroforestry and wood processing processes and local community engagement work.
Laos’ availability of land, combined with possessing highly conducive biological growth conditions, and being strategically located in near proximity to areas of significant wood deficit, makes it an attractive investment destination.”
Przemyslaw Pruszynski, CEO, Burapha Agro-Forestry said, “This is an exciting development for Burapha. New Forests is a leading forestry and natural capital focused investment manager, with in-depth, specialist knowledge of the landscape for forestry in Laos, including forestry management and local community engagement.
“We are extremely pleased to be partnering up with New Forests to continue on our mission to create a plantation base large enough for Laos to develop as a leading forest industry nation. Our objective is to support the long-term protection and reforestation and management of our land that can benefit current and future generations.”
The Restoration Seed Capital Facility helped to provide support to TAFF2 for the due diligence of the project.
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About New Forests
New Forests is a global investment manager of nature-based real assets and natural capital strategies, with USD 8 billion in assets under management across more than 4.2 million hectares of investments (as at 31 December 2024). We manage a diversified portfolio of sustainable timber plantations and conservation areas, carbon and conservation finance projects, agriculture, timber processing and infrastructure. We aim to generate shared prosperity for our clients and the communities in which we operate and accelerate the transition to a sustainable future.
Headquartered in Sydney, New Forests is a Certified B Corp and operates in Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia, Africa and the United States. www.newforests.com
About Mirova
Mirova is a global asset management company dedicated to sustainable investing and an affiliate of Natixis Investment Managers. At the forefront of sustainable finance for over a decade, Mirova has been developing innovative investment solutions across all asset classes, aiming to combine long term value creation with positive environmental and social impact. Headquartered in Paris, Mirova offers a broad range of equity, fixed income, multi-asset, energy transition infrastructure, natural capital and private equity solutions designed for institutional investors, distribution platforms and retail investors in Europe, North America, and Asia-Pacific. Mirova and its affiliates had €32 billion in assets under management as of March 31, 2025. Mirova is a mission-driven company, labeled B Corp.