KPMG
Family offices: A role for Hong Kong?
Hong Kong’s package of incentives for family offices is intended to redress a balance that has swung in favour of Singapore. Geopolitics is dampening its competitive advantages
Japan buyouts: Bucking the trend
Japan remains a private equity hotspot despite muted buyout activity elsewhere in Asia. Take-private and sponsor-to-sponsor opportunities make for a more textured local market
India exits: Sustainable trend?
GPs saw abundant exits in India in 2021 and the flow continued last year even as other markets stumbled. Investors must assess the merits of various contributing cyclical and structural factors
Japan middle market: Crowded field
The expansion of Japan’s middle-market private equity scene has not kept pace with the rise in global investor interest. Spiking competition is inducing GP formation, but impediments are myriad
Japan carve-outs: Improving the old
Private equity investors are keen to acquire mature but unloved assets from Japanese corporates and reposition them for growth. Execution is seldom straightforward, and size often means complexity
ESG in M&A: Eloquent exits
Private equity firms are increasingly presenting portfolio companies’ sustainability credentials in a prepared and formal way in trade sale situations. It appears to be worth the trouble
Japan VC: Late-stage crossroads
Japan’s late-stage technology start-ups are finally beginning to attract meaningful attention from global investors. They should not pop open the champagne
Emerging Asia start-ups: Governance revisited
Even a modest cooling off from tech investment euphoria experienced in the peak of the pandemic could reveal big cracks in Asian start-up markets. Diligence efforts are ramping up, but is it enough?
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
Asia exits: Pass the parcel
Sponsor-to-sponsor exits are set to reach a record high in Asia this year as private equity firms increase velocity of deployment and some strategics remain in a pandemic-induced funk
Hong Kong IPOs: Winner by default
New York’s loss is expected to be Hong Kong’s gain as regulatory and political turbulence drives Chinese start-ups to look for alternative listing destinations – unless valuations become a sticking point
China biotech: Going global
A gradual shift in focus from sourcing assets from overseas for application in China to bringing China-made treatments to the world is challenging the notion of what constitutes a local biotech start-up
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
Japan activists: Enablers or destabilizers?
The corporate governance scandal at Toshiba underlines the increasing influence of activist investors in Japan. For private equity firms, there are two sides to the coin
Carried interest: Safe in Hong Kong?
Tax treatment of carried interest has been an issue of contention in Hong Kong for several years. Just when it seemed to be resolved, draft implementation guidelines are causing disquiet
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
Vietnam SOEs: Diverted divestments
Murky accounting and politics have rapidly decelerated the privatization of Vietnam’s government-owned companies in recent years. Private equity is biding its time and testing creative inroads
The crystal ball: Predictions for 2021
Industry professionals process the upheavals of 2020 to inform outlooks for a range of markets and investment themes. Realist bullishness abounds
Australia IPOs: Window of opportunity
Australian public market investors are famously unforgiving of private equity when IPOs fail to perform. The markets are open for business again, but how long will the golden period last?
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
Asia consumer: Sale of the century
The traditionally slow-changing retail sector received an unexpected incentive to smarten up quickly this year. When the dust settles, shopping will never be the same again
Asia exits: Liquidity lags
Private equity exits – outside of the public markets – are gradually emerging from a COVID-19 hibernation. But sellers must be mindful of timing, structure, and which buyers they are targeting
Coronavirus & infrastructure: Trial by fire
Conservative investors who trust infrastructure for its stability have received a rude awakening with COVID-19. With appetite for the asset class unchanged, it’s time to get smart about risk
India middle-market: Looking for positives
Private equity activity is gradually resuming as India’s economy emerges from lockdown, but investors are wary of paying too much for assets or putting their money behind unsustainable trends