Economy
South by Southeast: Asia’s next growth engine?
Grouping together markets based on growth and scale is a problematic with South Asia and Southeast Asia as it was with the BRIC economies. But to some extent, investors are buying into the story
PAG's Shan emphasizes diversity, control in Asia private equity
Momentum has shifted towards geographically diversified pan-regional investors, control deals, and private markets following a decade dominated by China-centric funds, growth-stage technology plays, and public equities, Weijian Shan, chairman and CEO...
Asia buyouts: The case for control
Investors are looking to minimise external financial and macro risks and emphasise factors they can control – which means more buyouts, careful asset selection, and greater operational intensity
2023 preview: China macro
Private equity is eager to re-engage with China as a sudden post-pandemic re-opening reminds investors focused on the country to expect the unexpected. A weak global picture could spoil the party
Southeast Asia tech: Resilient with an asterisk
Southeast Asia’s booming tech space no longer lends itself to an easy narrative. As start-up fever cools globally, the region charges forward. Cracks are beginning to show but so are counterintuitive bright spots
Q&A: Jungle Ventures’ Amit Anand
Singapore’s Jungle Ventures has closed its fourth early-stage tech fund on USD 600m, shattering an initial target of USD 350m. Amit Anand, a founding partner at the firm, unpacks the achievement
Family offices to mix caution with courage in 2022
Conservatism in a post-pandemic world must be redefined to include flexibility and exposure to progressive industries, the Hong Kong Venture Capital & Private Equity Association’s (HKVCA) Asia forum heard.
2022 preview: India tech
As India’s technology sector balloons, investors are balancing confidence about fundamentals with expectations of pushback. Both will play out in 2022 to some extent
2022 preview: Macro & buyout
Will the bullish investment environment persist through 2022? Most Asia-based private equity players expect to remain busy, although they acknowledge a lack of visibility around macro and geopolitical risk
PE investors wary of inflation in 2022 - AVCJ Forum
Inflation is top of mind for Asia-focused private equity investors as they assess the various uncertainties facing the industry in 2022, the AVCJ Private Equity & Venture Forum heard.
Australia PE: Brave new world
As Australia contemplates opening its tightly controlled borders and finding a way to live with COVID-19, private equity probes an opportunity set in transition yet surprisingly stable
Myanmar: Asia’s anguish
Myanmar has proven unique among Asia’s frontier markets in terms of volatility and risk. As its ongoing humanitarian and political catastrophe deepens, a sense of helplessness has taken root
Myanmar: Coup confusion
Myanmar's isolationism is likely to be harder to maintain this time should the military seek a return to its old ways. Investors are watching and waiting, but should they also be considering the ESG implications?
Taiwan & tech tensions: Silicon island
Taiwan’s technology sector must play an awkward balancing game amid US-China tensions. This could be a surprisingly favorable position for opportunistic investment and global diversifications
PE & Asian banks: Once-in-a-decade opportunity
GPs like targeting banks during downturns, investing in stronger players at discount valuations and backing them to come out the other side with increased market share. Will it be more of the same with COVID-19?
China rebound favors the few - AVCJ Forum
China’s economy has rebounded from COVID-19 faster than most others, but the pandemic has exposed a widening wealth gap in the country, industry participants told the AVCJ China Forum.
Southeast Asia macro: Encouraging minefield
Southeast Asia benefits from an enviable macro outlook versus other markets, and investment in the region is set to recover relatively quickly. But is that enough?
Korea commits $1.7b to start-up ecosystem
Korea has committed KRW2.1 trillion ($1.7 billion) to local start-ups in biotechnology and non-contact technologies as part of a KRW5.8 trillion private sector COVID-19 recovery agenda.
Coronavirus & Vietnam: Hobbled winner
A successful COVID-19 containment plan has underlined Vietnam’s status as a leading investment destination in Southeast Asia. GPs are impressed but still hamstrung
Storm warning: Investors prepare for macro difficulties
The coronavirus outbreak appears to be fast-tracking a long-expected economic downturn. The situation is very different from the aftermath of the global financial crisis, but PE investors may still draw instruction from the events of 2008-2009
China-US tensions: Adapting to malaise
China would suffer the most immediate impact of a technology decoupling with the US, but both sides would be damaged in the long-term in the absence of remedial action
Macro uncertainty to drive increased Korean M&A
Difficult economic and political conditions bode well for the Korean PE industry in the near term, according to Michael Chung (pictured), head of Korea at Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia (MSPEA).
LPs and secondaries: Subliminal stimulation
Global economic and political themes are exerting an almost invisible undertow on LP participation in the secondaries market. The boom in Asia will be touched but not redirected
Q&A: Choson Exchange's Geoffrey See
Geoffrey See is an advisor on Korean Peninsula affairs to the World Economic Forum and a serial tech entrepreneur who helps incubate start-ups in North Korea through his organization Choson Exchange