Fundraising
ResponsAbility sets $450m hard cap for second Asia food fund
Swiss impact investor ResponsAbility has set the hard cap for its second South and Southeast Asia-focused sustainable food fund at USD 450m, having fully deployed Fund I across five investments.
Lightspeed China hits first close on renminbi fund
Lightspeed China Partners has returned to the renminbi funds space for the first time in seven years, reaching a first close of CNY 800m (USD 116m) on its latest local currency vehicle.
PAG cuts target size of Asia fund by one third
PAG has reduced the target size of its fourth pan-Asian buyout fund to USD 6bn from USD 9bn, according to Mergermarket, AVCJ's sister publication.
Coller launches $218m renminbi secondaries fund
Coller Capital has launched a renminbi secondaries fund with a target of CNY 1.5bn (USD 218m), confirming it has secured a first close of undisclosed size.
Fund focus: Iron Pillar takes India SaaS to the world
Iron Pillar has secured USD 129m for what it claims is the first India venture-growth fund dedicated to supporting local companies with global software and cloud infrastructure solutions
Gulf gambit: Asia GPs court Middle East LPs
As the Middle East becomes a focal point for private equity fundraising globally, Asia-based managers hope that macro trends work in their favour. Being the right size and the right strategic fit also helps
Japan's Fiducia hits second close on debut fund
Fiducia, a tech investor set up by the former private markets head of Japan Post Bank, has reached a second close of JPY 3.86bn (USD 29m) following a commitment from SBI Group.
Kotak reaches first close on second India special situations fund
Kotak Investment Advisors has reached a first close of USD 1.25bn on its second India-focused special situations fund against an overall target of USD 1.6bn.
Hopu Magnolia cuts fund target, seeks to delay final close
Hopu Magnolia, a growth capital unit of Chinese private equity firm Hopu Investment Management, has cut its planned new fund size to USD 250m, almost half of the original target.
Asian institutional players target higher private markets allocations
Four in five institutional investors in Asia Pacific plan to increase their allocations to private markets in the next five years despite some facing near-term denominator effect challenges because of declines in public markets, according to a survey...
Portfolio Advisors raises $1bn for global fund-of-funds
Portfolio Advisors has closed its latest global multi-strategy fund-of-funds – which allows LPs to customise allocations across several key areas – with commitments of just over USD 1bn.
Global PE sees fundraising, performance contraction - McKinsey
Global private equity fundraising contracted 15% in 2022 as McKinsey & Company’s latest private markets annual review painted a bleak picture of the asset class, noting that one-year performance entered negative territory for the first time since 2008....
Southeast Asia VC: Drought survivors
As weaker sentiment for technology risk cools venture capital markets globally, Southeast Asia is lagging in limbo. Investors remain bullish but continue to hold their fire amidst questions around valuations
Malaysia's Khazanah launches start-up programme
Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional has launched a VC collaboration and start-up investment programme with an initial MYR 180m (USD 40m).
Partners Group hires Greater China fundraisers
Partners Group has added fundraising bandwidth in Greater China, recruiting Jin Wang as a managing director responsible for institutional coverage and making two private wealth hires.
Lighthouse hits $200m first close on fourth India fund
Lighthouse Funds has reached a first close of approximately USD 200m on its fourth India mid-market fund – four months after returning nearly the entire Fund III corpus through an exit from beauty e-commerce platform Nykaa.
Australian HNWIs want more PE exposure, but obstacles remain - AVCJ Forum
Private equity may not be proven in the eyes of Australia’s high net worth investors, most of whom haven’t been exposed to the asset class across multiple cycles, but it earned wider recognition last year as public equities and fixed income struggled....
Heritas hits $20m first close on Asia impact fund
Singapore-based private equity firm Heritas Capital has reached a first close of USD 20m on its latest Asia impact fund against an overall target of USD 50m. DBS contributed USD 10m.
India's Rockstud targets $37m for sophomore angel fund
India’s Rockstud Capital, an early-stage VC investor backed by high net worth individuals, has launched its second angel fund with a target of INR 3bn (USD 37m).
LP interview: North East Private Equity Asia
Seven years ago, Sam Robinson was invited to build a European family office’s Asia private equity portfolio from the ground up. He favoured familiar faces in the small to mid-cap space
BPEA EQT hits first close on mid-market fund, seals debut deal
BPEA EQT – which was formed through the merger of Baring Private Equity Asia and EQT – achieved a first close on its pan-regional mid-cap fund at the end of last year and the vehicle recently completed its debut investment in a Malaysia-headquartered...
BlackRock hires Campbell Lutyens' Asia head
BlackRock has recruited George Maltezos, formerly head of Asia Pacific at placement agent Campbell Lutyens, to lead alternatives distribution in the region.
Adams Street establishes Australia presence
Adams Street Partners has opened an office in Sydney, which will be led by Shaun Thomas, an investor relations principal who joined the firm last November.
AI-dedicated GP targets South, Southeast Asia
A group of artificial intelligence (AI) investors in Africa have launched a new Singapore-based private equity firm, AI Capital, that will invest across South and Southeast Asia, as well as Africa.