Blackstone appoints ex-PwC executive as Singapore chairman

The appointment comes as Blackstone - like several other global buyout firms - seeks to ramp up its presence in Singapore with a view to creating a Southeast Asia investment platform.

"[Banerjee] he has become one of the senior leaders of the business and broader community in the region," said Michael Chae, head of international private equity at Blackstone. "His deep knowledge of the region, extensive relationships, and superb judgment will be invaluable to our investing and advisory businesses in Southeast Asia and throughout the region."

Blackstone is said to have leased substantial office space in Singapore and is building out its local team, while KKR established a permanent presence in the city in October and Warburg Pincus and Bain Capital are both reportedly hiring in Southeast Asia. The Carlyle Group, TPG Capital and CVC Capital Partners already have local operations, each with 4-9 investment professionals.

Blackstone's expansion strategy elsewhere in Asia has typically involved the appointment of a local business heavyweight as chairman.

The company appointed Akhil Gupta, formerly of Reliance Industries, to head up its India operations in 2005, the same year it opened an office in Mumbai. Blackstone set up shop in Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai two years later, hiring Antony Leung, previously financial secretary of Hong Kong, as senior managing director and chairman of China.

The firm, which has made private equity investments worth $2.5 billion in Asia and a similar amount under management on the real estate side, recently announced plans to launch an dedicated regional property fund.

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• Topics
• Southeast Asia
• People
• Buyout
• The Blackstone Group
• Appointments
• Southeast Asia
• Singapore