China's Yingke raises $1.5b technology, healthcare fund
Shanghai-based Yingke Private Equity has raised RMB10 billion ($1.5 billion) for a fund that will focus on core technology and biomedical science assets in China.
The Yingke China Core Asset Strategic Allocation Fund launched in August and received backing from LPs including financial institutions, state-owned enterprises, and local government investment vehicles. Investors in other Yingke funds account for 90% of the corpus.
Mingfei Qian, chairman of Yingke, will lead the fund, supported by two senior partners, Wei Wang and Zhengzheng Shi, who are responsible for technology and biomedicine, respectively. Shi joined Yingke in October, having previously held academic positions at Baylor College of Medicine and Cornell University in the US, and Zhejiang University in China. He was also a senior scientist at Lexicon, a NASDAQ-listed pharmaceutical company.
“Technological independence and self-reliance have become key aspects of China's strategic development. The size and competitive advantages of core assets will grow as China’s economic structure optimizes. These core assets will become more valuable and among the most in-demand assets globally,” said Qian.
The final close takes Yingke's overall fundraising activity in the past five months to RMB16 billion. In June and July, the firm closed two vehicles of RMB4 billion and RMB2 billion, respectively.
Founded in 2010, Yingke is a mixed-ownership enterprise with shares held by large financial institutions and a number of state-owned enterprises. Assets under management (AUM) totaled RMB50 billion at the end of 2019. It has made approximately 200 investments across healthcare, new energy, defense and aerospace, and consumer. More than 40 portfolio companies have gone public.
In addition to private equity, Yingke runs strategies for convertible bonds and quantitative investments.
Recent Yingke investments include participation in a RMB500 million Series D for medical devices manufacturer Hanyu Medical, a $100 million Series C round for Adlai Nortye, and a RMB1.2 billion Series B for Haihe Pharmaceutical. Both Adlai Nortye and Haihe Pharma focus on cancer treatments. Yingke also backed a RMB10 billion round for electric vehicle manufacturer WM Motor.
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