LPs
KKR reaches $15b final close on fourth Asian fund
KKR has closed its fourth pan-Asian fund at $15 billion – the largest US dollar-denominated private equity vehicle ever raised for the region and the largest raised by KKR globally by number of LPs.
CDC, FMO, SDC launch Nepal investment platform
European development finance institutions CDC Group and FMO and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) have jointly launched a market building platform in Nepal.
Q&A: OMERS’ Ani Deshmukh
Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) recently backed a spinout of Olympus Capital Asia’s credit team as Orion Capital Asia. Ani Deshmukh, a director with the Canadian pension fund, explains its regional strategy
Fund focus: Openspace says it with distributions
Openspace Ventures launched its $200 million third fund comfortable in the knowledge that the first two were top-quartile performers. IPOs, trade sales and partial secondary exits have all played a role
Shariah investors in PE: Tailored exposure
Employees Provident Fund’s $600 million shariah-compliant co-investment mandate suggests increasing institutional appetite for Islamic finance solutions in private equity. Is the industry ready?
ESG scoring: Measured approach
Investors are encouraged to keep experimenting in quantifying and qualifying the real-world outcomes of their sustainable investment programs. Every report is imperfect yet worthwhile
LP interview: Sun Hung Kai & Co
Lindsay Wright, CEO of the newly launched funds management unit at Sun Hung Kai & Co, is helping reposition a Hong Kong financial services mainstay as an alternatives investor
Profile: Cook Islands Super's David Brown
In 2015, David Brown swapped a career as an LP in Australia for a similar vocation in the Pacific Islands. Despite leaving his comfort zone – and getting charged and then cleared of fraud – he’s keen for more
Singapore's Azalea launches PE-backed bond offering
Temasek Holdings-owned Azalea Asset Management plans to sell S$250 million ($186 million) worth of bonds – backed by LP interests in private equity funds – to retail investors in Singapore.
Temasek agrees $500m tie-up with impact investor LeapFrog
Temasek Holdings has committed $500 million to Asia and Africa-focused impact investor LeapFrong Investments, which will see it participate as an anchor LP in the firm’s future funds.
KIC appoints new private equity head
Korea Investment Corporation (KIC) has appointed Sungjun Song as head of its private equity division.
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.
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.
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
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.
BRICS bank commits $100m to India state-backed fund-of-funds
NIIF Fund of Funds, a rupee-denominated fund-of-funds vehicle anchored by the Indian government, has reached the $800 million mark following a $100 million commitment from the country’s New Development Bank (NDB).
Temasek CEO steps down
Ho Ching, CEO of Singapore’s Temasek Holdings will step down from the government-controlled investment fund effective October 1. She will retire her board seat on the same date.
NZ Super to back Pioneer's fourth fund
Auckland-based private equity firm Pioneer Capital has received a cornerstone commitment of NZ$100 million ($72 million) for its fourth fund from New Zealand Superannuation Fund (NZ Super).
CDC expands VC program with South Asia focus
UK development finance institution CDC Group has engaged two venture capital industry veterans as part of a VC program expansion in Africa and South Asia.
Asia family offices: Unfamiliar territory
The industrial backgrounds of family offices represent a strategic edge but also a potential hinderance to portfolio diversification. The same goes for principal-led governance structures
Hong Kong's E15 VC closes second fund at $32m
Hong Kong technology investor E15 VC, also known as E15 Ventures, has closed its second fund at $32 million with a $15 million contribution from Sun Hung Kai & Co (SHK).
Q&A: Office of New York City Comptroller's Wendy Garcia
Wendy Garcia, chief diversity officer for the Office of New York City Comptroller discusses her team’s diversity and inclusion objectives and what this means for GPs seeking allocations from city’s pension funds
