ESR Group said Monday its wholly-owned subsidiary ARA has partnered with the Export-Import Bank of China (China Exim Bank) in the closing of a $1 billion infrastructure fund.

China Exim Bank, the main anchor sponsor of the China-ASEAN Investment Cooperation Fund II, has also appointed ARA Infrastucture as the fund's investment adviser, ESR said in a press release.

Apart from the Bank and ARA, Gezhouba Group Overseas Investment Corporation and China Road & Bridge Corporation have also committed capital to the fund.

The fund will invest in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) across various infrastructure, energy resources and ICT sub-sectors, with a strong focus on sustainability and ESG standards, ESR said.

(Reporting by Kane Wu; Editing by Kim Coghill)