Articles by Allen Lee
AVCJ Awards: Explaining the changes for 2014
It’s that time again. Each Autumn, competition between Asia’s PE and VC firms expands beyond deal-making and fundraising as they vie for top honors in the AVCJ Private Equity & Venture Capital Awards. Public voting is currently underway and closes on...
Asia energy: Oil angle
The continued growth of the Asia economies means increased demand for energy. Major Asian countries and corporations are rising to the challenge and paying top dollar for almost every oil and gas interest they can lay their hands on - not to mention extraction...
Oil angle: PE finds a route in Asia
The continued growth of the Asian economies means increased demand for energy. Major Asian countries and corporations are rising to the challenge and paying top dollar for almost every oil and gas interest they can lay their hands on – not to mention...
Asian Venture Capital: Not yet bubble territory
Is Asian venture capital back in favor? Based on what has been happening in the last year or so, the answer would be a resounding yes. Like their peers in Silicon Valley, the Asian VC community is certainly seeing more activity than say three years ago....
Beyond the tapering terror
Limited partners around the globe are now returning to private equity opportunities in developed Western markets, especially those of the US, a number of recent surveys indicate. Asian private equity, and Southeast Asia in particular, has fallen a few...
An issue of GP sustainability
Amongst the key issues raised at our AVCJ Forum last November was the fact that many Asian private equity firms lack a long-term business model for both their investments and themselves. This issue will become increasingly important as the industry continues...
Five trends worth watching
When we look back at 2013 it will probably be described as a slow year for Asian private equity. Statistics on all major PE activities in the region have fallen substantially.
Malaysia rising
It's been a few years since Southeast Asia, spurred by rising interest in Indonesia, emerged as the hottest region for LPs seeking private equity exposure. While the frenzy has eased recently, the region remains an attractive location, especially for...
Forbidden fruit?
There used to be a time when a private equity fund buying the portfolio company of another private equity fund was a serious faux pas. Nowadays, GPs have become less shy about buying from peers, who in many cases might be selling good but un-exited assets...
Taiwan returns to the private equity map
I may have said this many times before but Taiwan, with its large number of world-class managers, manufacturing prowess and geographic proximity and cultural similarities to China, has the potential to be a leading investment destination for private equity...
Regional update: A time to invest?
Is now the time to invest in Asia? This is a question that keeps popping up in my conversations with limited partners. Obviously, the simple answer can always be “yes.” That is if these LPs are able to locate and gain access to the fund managers that...
Haves and have nots
It probably comes as no surprise to most readers that Asia Pacific fundraising in the first quarter of 2013 was much slower than in the past. When I covered the tough fundraising conditions in the March 18 viewpoint, I observed that the market is divided...
A multi-faceted market
Of readers who have been following Asia’s private equity markets for some years, few would contest South Korea’s place as one of the more important locations for international investors. After all, apart from maybe Australia, it has been the region’s...
Transition time
China has now completed the second smooth leadership transition in its modern history, with Xi Jinping assuming the role of president - he had already been named to the arguably more important posts of chairman of the Central Military Commission and general...
Tougher this time
A number of PE executives - old enough to have seen several cycles – have commented on how difficult the fundraising environment is at present. “I thought my last fundraising [in 2004] was very difficult. Now that I am raising my current fund, the past...
AVCJ launches iOS app
Those readers who were around 10 years ago are likely to have stark memories of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS, the disease that struck fear into Asia's communities and temporarily laid waste to economies. Needless to say, private equity and...
A platform for private equity
A few weeks ago, I met the head of private equity of one of the largest pension funds in Asia and the world. A very impressive guy with terrific insight of the market, our conversation was great (from my standpoint) until I invited him to attend (and...
Positive vibes spread on Korea
As I noted in a viewpoint piece last September, private equity in South Korea is seeing a revival internationally. The market has steadily worked its way back from one populated almost exclusively by local GPs – most of them subsidiaries of securities...
The four arms of Chinese private equity
The Chinese private equity market has lost a lot of its momentum in the past 12 months, with fundraising and investment dropping significantly, particularly in the latter half of 2012. Renminbi fundraising appears to have ground to a near halt, contributing...
Indian PE: Time to return?
We are proud to be hosting the 13th annual AVCJ Private Equity & Venture Forum India in Mumbai this year. The sentiment for the 2012 event seems somewhat different from previous years. Obviously, we all know that private equity in India is in a state...
Asian PE – the show that never stops
It is but a few days until the AVCJ Private Equity & Venture Forum – indeed you may find yourself reading this at the event itself. I am pleased to note that despite the beating private equity has taken in certain markets, our conference is proceeding...
Asian private equity: Education never ends
It is common knowledge that Asian private equity has been going from strength to strength, generating returns that compare increasingly favorably to those of Western Europe and the US. Indeed, recent figures published by Cambridge Associates suggest that...
GPs' optimism: Korea redux
Despite a few issues, South Korea has always been a favored market for Asian private equity investors. That is hardly surprising as the many of the best performing transactions in the history of the asset class in Asia have come out of Korea. It could...
The sun is rising again for Japanese private equity
Is the Japanese private equity industry finally turning the corner? The simple answer to that is yes.