(Bloomberg) -- Goldman Sachs Asset Management is teaming up with the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System to co-invest in private credit transactions across the Asia Pacific region. 

The pair will primarily invest in senior direct lending opportunities in Asia Pacific, with the option to also invest in mezzanine and hybrid transactions, according to a Wednesday press release. The funds will be deployed through a separately managed account, overseen by GSAM’s private credit Asia business.

“We see significant demand in the region by companies and sponsors alike,” said James Reynolds, global co-head of private credit at GSAM, in the release. 

A growing number of financial institutions have been pushing into the $1.5 trillion global private credit market lately. On Tuesday, Wells Fargo & Co. and Centerbridge Partners announced that they’re teaming up on a $5 billion direct-lending fund. Earlier this month, Societe Generale SA partnered with Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. to start a $10.7 billion private debt fund, and Deutsche Bank AG’s asset management arm is also seeking about $1 billion for a private debt fund. 

As for Toronto-based Omers, the pension fund has been plotting a bigger move into credit markets generally as it sees the richest yields in decades. Around 25% of the fund’s assets were concentrated in credit and bonds at the end of June, fund disclosures show. 

“Private credit remains an attractive area within the credit space globally,” said Kal Patel, executive vice president and head of global credit at Omers, in the release. “The expansion of our existing relationship with Goldman Sachs into Asia will position us well to further unlock these opportunities.” 

Omers declined to comment on how much it is looking to deploy through the new partnership.

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