Articles by Allen Lee
Rockley Group expands China team
The Rockley Group has announced that it has expanded its team in China with the appointment of Yanong Ning as investment director. Ning, a Phd holder, will take charge of the generation and management of transactions in China for Rockley’s China Fund,...
Announcing the AVCJ Private Equity & Venture Capital Awards China
2003 was probably one of the gloomiest years in recent memory for people in Asia. It was in that year that we launched our first annual AVCJ Private Equity & Venture Capital Awards at the suggestion of Walden’s Lip Bu Tan, who rightly proposed injecting...
Providence invests in India’s UFO Moviez
Providence Equity Partners has invested INR2.6 billion ($58.3 million) to become the largest shareholder in digital cinema company, UFO Moviez. UFO is the world's largest satellite-based digital cinema service with close to 2,500 installations across...
Cargill to raise Asian food fund says report
Cargill’s private equity arm, Black River Asset Management, is planning to raise a $400 million fund focused on the food in Asia, reports Reuters. According to the article, the proposed fund, called Black River Capital Partners (Food) Fund, has already...
CVC partially exits Hung Hing
CVC via investment holding company Asia Packaging Company, has reportedly sold a 29.9% stake in Hong Kong-listed Hung Hing Printing Group to Rengo Co., Ltd, a paper and packaging materials manufacturer listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, for HK$1.43 billion....
Malaysia and the rest of ASEAN
I was recently in Malaysia last week and got a chance to catch up with a number of old friends in Kuala Lumpur about the local private equity industry, which has been getting a bit of ink from the press lately as a result of Affinity Equity Partners and...
Succession in private equity
Perhaps it is a sign of market maturity, or maybe it is a signal that the effects of the global financial crisis has passed, but the past few months have seen quite a few human resources changes within the Asian private equity industry. While changing...
MSPE Asia sees returns with China Shanshui
In a further testament to the opportunities surrounding China’s booming infrastructure sector, Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia has fully exited its investment in Hong Kong-listed China Shanshui Cement, selling its final block of shares for $222 million....
Breaking out of the shell
Captive funds have becoming active in Asia but are they here for the long term?
IDG-Accel raise $1.3 billion
IDG-Accel has announced that it has raised $1.3 billion.
KKR and partner announce bid for Yageo
KKR Asia has teamed up with, Pierre Chen, chairman of Taiwan’s Yageo Corporation to launch takeover bid that will see Chen’s electronic-components manufacturer privatized. The deal values the target at $1.6 billion. The transaction will be conducted...
ICICI Venture and Gaja Capital invest in TeamLease
ICICI Venture will join existing investor, Gaja Capital Partners, in injecting Rs. 100 Crore into TeamLease Services, a Bangalore-based composite staffing and education company.
Changing of the guard at HarbourVest Partners Asia
van den Berg to take over driver's seat from Bilden
Morgan Stanley PE Asia exits China Shanshui
Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia has fully exited its investment in Hong Kong-listed China Shanshui Cement with the sale of block priced at $222 million. Morgan Stanley was the sole book runner.
Lakeshore launches Thai focused fund
Lakeshore, an investment firm led by Thai nationals, has announced the creation of Lakeshore Capital Asia Ltd, a $60 million growth capital fund manager focusing on Thailand. The fundraising is being assisted by London-based Chikusei Partners.
L Capital to invest Indian retailer
L Capital Asia, the $500 million private equity fund sponsored by luxury product giant LVMH Group is in discussions to buy stake in India fashion and lifestyle goods retailer Genesis Colors Pvt Ltd, according to a report by the Indian Times.
Commitment to markets
The commitment by private equity firms to a particular country market was the subject of a recent conversation with a prominent financial adviser. The Taiwan-based adviser claims that private equity firms are having problems making deals in Taiwan because...
VisionChina goes after VC firms in US courts
In February, the former shareholders of Digital Media Group (DMG) (Shareholder Representative Services, Oak Investment Partners XII, Gobi Partners, Inc., Gobi Fund, Inc., and Gobi Fund II, L.P.) filed a counter suit against VisionChina Media, one of China’s...
A time of reflection
Reading and watching the news of late is like flipping through a modern day interpretation of the Old Testament: pestilence, war, famine and death are everywhere, and it seems someone up above is angry. From Japan to Libya and New Zealand to Yemen, the...
Axis PE’s Gupta, Knight quit captive fund
Axis Bank, India's third largest lender has made no secret of its intentions of leaving the private equity industry. Over the last year, it has entertained a management buyout offer for Axis Private Equity (which has a INR600 crore ($133 million) infrastructure...
Saluting the Japanese people
On behalf of the editors and staff of the Asian Venture Capital Journal, I extend our company’s deepest sympathies and condolences to people affected by the Japan earthquake on March 11 and the resulting tsunamis. Even from our offices in Hong Kong’s...
IDFC no longer a fund of funds
IDFC has pulled out of the private equity fund of funds business, which it entered in September 2009 under IDFC Capital. The Singapore-based FoF venture, which was headed by former ADB private equity head, Veronica John, reportedly failed to raise any...
The changing face of Indian private equity
What's happening in Indian private equity? The past few months have seen tremendous changes in India’s PE industry as local professionals move around in a happy merry-go-round of new and old faces. Some industry watchers say these changes and movements...
Ashish Dhawan to retire from private equity
Leading Indian general partner Ashish Dhawan will leave ChrysCapital - the private equity firm he founded - to pursue work surrounding social issues in India. In a statement to press, ChrysCapital has announced an 18 month management transition into a...