Industry
India direct secondaries: Footprint freefall
A darker mood for Chinese investors in India is stirring expectations for a wave of direct secondary opportunities
GPs & SPACs: Filthy lucre?
The global SPAC craze is percolating into Asia, with private equity firms among the sponsors. LPs aren’t necessarily comfortable with the development, but there’s only so much they can do about it
China VCs back See Fund's debut vehicle
See Fund, an investment firm established by the founder of Chinese artificial intelligence chip start-up DeePhi Technology, has raised RMB200 million ($31 million) for its debut fund.
India's Oaks raises $55m for consumer PE fund
India’s Oaks Asset Management has raised INR4 billion ($55 million) for its second mid-market consumer private equity fund. The overall target is INR5 billion.
OrbiMed raises $800m for Asia life sciences fund
OrbiMed has closed its latest Asia life sciences fund, which primarily invests in China and India, with $800 million in commitments.
Indus Valley raises $17.5m for Pakistan VC fund
Pakistan-focused VC firm Indus Valley Capital has raised $17.5 million for its debut fund focused on early-stage start-ups. The initial target was $15 million.
ESG & operations: Compliance corner
Few mid-market private equity firms in Asia have dedicated ESG personnel and this is not necessarily an obstacle to progress. As compliance and reporting burdens increase, the status quo may change
Malaysia's EPF awards co-investment SMAs to global firms
BlackRock, HarbourVest Partners, and Partners Group have been awarded co-investment mandates by Malaysia’s Employees Provident Fund (EPF) totaling $600 million.
New Frontier Japan targets $94m for second fund
New Frontier Japan Investment (NFJI), a lower middle-market Japanese private equity firm, is looking to raise JPY10 billion ($94.4 million) for its second fund.
Private equity & cybersecurity: Dark clouds
From fraudulent drawdown notices to ransomware, private equity firms and their portfolio companies are increasingly vulnerable to cyber-attacks. Training and vigilance are paramount
Q&A: Affirma Capital's Ivo Philipps
Affirma Capital came into being 18 months ago as Standard Chartered’s private equity team spun out with most of the remaining balance sheet assets. COO Ivo Philipps explains the middle and back office transition
LeapFrog names co-head of healthcare
Asia and Africa-focused impact investor LeapFrog Investments has recruited Biju Mohandas as a partner and global co-lead for healthcare.
China's Fresh Capital hits $93m first close on Fund II
Fresh Capital, a Shanghai-based venture capital firm, has reached a first close of RMB600 million ($93 million) on its second renminbi-denominated fund.
TPG takes majority stake in NewQuest
TPG has agreed to take a majority interest in Asia secondaries specialist NewQuest Capital Partners, nearly three years after acquiring a minority stake in the manager.
LPs endorse Ocean Link's China tourism, technology thesis
Ocean Link has raised $580 million for a second fund targeting China travel, tourism and consumer technology assets, but the firm believes co-investment could take aggregate deployment to $1.4 billion
Fundraising talent: New calls of duty
The trend toward more stringent due diligence in recent years has maximized fundraising complexity at a time when the professionals involved must adapt to unfamiliar virtual forums
COOs in Asia private equity: Horses for courses
The COO role is gradually becoming more prevalent in Asian private equity, but GPs struggle to find the right combination of financial skills and business acumen. The optimal candidate is often internal
B Capital launches SPAC
B Capital Group, a US-based venture capital firm with a presence in Singapore and a significant Asia portfolio, is looking to raise $300 million for a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).
KKR loses managing director in Singapore
Terence Lee, a managing director at KKR who leads technology, media and telecom (TMT) and growth equity investments in Southeast Asia, has left the firm.
India's Avataar raises $100m top-up fund
Avataar Ventures, an India-based enterprise software investor that spun out from Norwest Venture Partners in 2019, has raised a $100 million opportunities fund that will do follow-on rounds for existing portfolio companies and make some new investments.
Hamilton Lane secures Asian support for global secondaries fund
Hamilton Lane has closed its fifth global secondaries fund on $3.9 billion, with Asian LPs accounting for 17% of the corpus.
Ex-KKR executive to lead Indonesia's sovereign wealth fund
Ridha Wirakusumah, whose previous roles include serving as a director for Southeast Asia at KKR, has been chosen to lead Indonesia's new sovereign wealth fund.
Vintage update: India 2011-2013
A selection of India-based assets that remain in the portfolios of Accel Partners, Aditya Birla Private Equity, BanyanTree Finance Private, Faering Capital, and Helion Venture Partners
Deal focus: Potentia exits Ascender, closes debut fund
Potentia Capital's debut fundraise was given extra impetus by an impending exit from Australia-based software provider Ascender, which delivered a 30x return
