Articles by Allen Lee
Submit your nominations for the 2011 AVCJ Awards
Diligent readers will recall that we’ve first announced in the August 30 issue of AVCJ that nominations for our 2011 AVCJ Asian Private Equity & Venture Capital Awards are open – to readers as well as the rest of the private equity industry.
Private equity and the state
The state, particularly in Asian countries, has always played a big role in the private equity industry. While almost all growing regional economies have helped nurture PE through sovereign wealth funds – fueled by foreign exchange and other cash reserves...
PE partnerships – A route into Indonesia
The recently announced TPG-North Star Pacific share swap got me thinking about collaboration between private equity firms. Global PE players have been using local funds to gain access to new markets for some time now, and quite a few have committed capital...
Private equity – it's all about the personalities
When I first joined AVCJ, I was told by my publisher Dan Schwartz that private equity is a people’s business. The full significance of these words didn’t hit home until sometime later, during the dotcom boom, when I saw how potent a mix of savvy investors...
Nominations are open for the AVCJ Awards 2011
As most of you will recall, we started the AVCJ Asian Private Equity & Venture Capital Awards back in 2001, when the region’s nascent private equity industry was going through a “nuclear winter,” picking up the pieces left by the dotcom bust. The awards...
AVCJ Forum: More than meets the eye
In the June 22 edition of this column, I shared a conversation with a venture capitalist about the reasons why it makes sense for VCs to attend the AVCJ Forum (www.avcjforum.com) in November. Basically, senior partners of the larger private equity and...
Asian LPs and the US Debt Crisis
There has been a shift in the investor base of major private equity funds in recent years as Asia evolves from being just an investment destination to becoming a region for fundraising. Sovereign wealth funds, of course, are leading the way with the substantial...
Emerging markets, fewer buyouts
Asia is top of many investors'wish lists, yet it is interesting how many Western GPs and LPs refer to the region as an emerging market. To those of us living in Asia – and many others on the outside – the term seems hopelessly outdated.
The Asian office: Regional, local or both?
I've said before that it's high time GPs based in US and Europe resume plans to set up offices in Asia. Before these ambitions were mothballed during the global financial crisis, I was often asked where in the region it is best to locate an office. The...
You're only as strong as your brand name
I was surorised by the number of LPs at the recent AVCJ Private Equity & Venture Forum in the US that were familiar with the top tier private equity funds in Asia.
Now is the time to open an Asian office
The last few years haev been among the most challenging for private equity. Armed with many of the best practices in the financial services, the industry emerged from the global financial crisis battered but not broken. And now, having turned the corner,...
China's rainmakers go solo
There have been many articles, books, discussions and conferences on Chinese entrepreneurism. This has come under the spotlight again with the recent wave of IPOs by mainland businesses in various bourses around the world. While many of these activities...
The benefits of making yourself heard
In a recent conversation with a prominent venture capitalist, I was asked about the value in speaking at an AVCJ event. For those of us in the company, it is almost a no-brainer.
Make space in your diary...
I am pleased to announce the official launch of our AVCJ Asian Private Equity & Venture Forum 2011 and this year’s conference rocks. I am obviously biased but our roster of speakers simply speaks for itself.
Is Australian private equity headed down under?
A recent report suggests that the high value of the Australian dollar against the US dollar is making life difficult – i.e. more expensive – for private equity funds, which tend to operate in the US currency. Taxes imposed by the government on asset sales...
The Winners Circle: 2011 AVCJ China Awards
Last Friday, at the closing luncheon of our highly successful AVCJ Private Equity & Venture Forum/China conference, we gave out our first ever dedicated awards focused on private equity and venture capital activity across China. Excited by the positive...
China's opportunity for RMB fund of funds
There is an opportunity for RMB-focused fund of funds in China says a panel of GPs and LPs at the AVCJ Private Equity & Venture Forum China. According to Judy Ye, Director and Head of EMAlternatives Asia says that the composition of RMB capital in China...
Opportunities in cross border deals says John Zhao
In his keynote speech at the Asian Private Equity & Venture Forum in Beijing today, John Zhao, CEO of Hony Capital, shared his views on the Chinese private equity market. Zhao saw opportunities for private equity investors in cross-border deals. "Many...
Rising pressures in Chinese private equity
IN THE PAST FEW YEARS, PRIVATE equity and venture capital firms have already established the industry as a credible source of financing for Chinese companies in need of capital. With the recent IPOs of Chinese entities, in particularly NASDAQ (that have...
AIF Capital adds three professionals
Well regarded middle market specialist AIF Capital has recently announced three additions to its team. The hires will bring the AIF professional headcount up to 27.
Qiming closes Fund III at $450 Million
Qiming Venture Partners has announced that it has closed its Qiming Ventures Fund III vehicle at $450 million. The close will bring Qiming's assets under management exceed $1 billion dollars from its debut in 2006.
Quantum joins VCs in Shanghai ad firm
Shanghai-based online advertising firm MediaV announced that it has successfully raised another $50 million from venture capital investors in its third round of funding. The round was led by Soro-affiliated Quantum Strategic Partners and supported by...
Morgan Stanley launch RMB fund JV with Hangzhou
Morgan Stanley, one of the most successful investors in China, has entered the RMB funds market with its own vehicle. Called the Morgan Stanley (China) Private Equity Investment Management Company Limited, the vehicle will be a joint venture with Hangzhou...
It's a private equity world out there
FOR MANY OF OUR READERS, THE WORDS ‘private equity’ may be most well associated with the business their company is conducting, private equity investing. Although that is true, private equity has grown to encompass a bigger meaning, especially in a world...