Industry
Asia Alternatives raises $1.5b, closes third fund
Asia Alternatives has raised $1.5 billion to invest in private equity and venture capital across Asia. The corpus is divided between $908 million for its Asia Alternatives Capital Partners III vehicle and another $600 million in separate accounts. This...
Daewoo to set up $1b fund with US partner
South Korean brokerage Daewoo Securities’ Hong Kong unit has reportedly teamed up with a US-based private equity firm to set up a $1 billion fund to invest in social infrastructure projects.
Australian tech entrepreneurs to create VC fund
A group of Australian technology entrepreneurs have joined forces to create a new venture capital fund, Blackbird Ventures.
Motilal Oswal PE in $87m second close on new fund
Motilal Oswal Private Equity has reached a second close of INR4.86 billion ($87 million) on its India Business Excellence Fund II, with Squadron Capital reportedly among the investors. The fund is expected to achieve a final close by the end of the year....
Innovation Works raises $148m for fund II, yet to reach close
Innovation Works, the tech incubator started by Google’s former China head Kai-fu Lee, has so raised $148 million for its second fund. Lee confirmed to Sina that fundraising efforts began in April, but didn’t disclose the target size or details of the...
Indonesia's Capsquare achieves first close on debut fund
Indonesian GP Capsquare Asia Partners has reached a first close on its debut fund, having raised three-quarters of the capital required to meet its $75 million full target. A final close is expected in the fourth quarter of 2012, perhaps as soon as late...
Colonial First State buys TDF's broadcasting assets in Finland
Colonial First State, an Australian wealth manager owned by Commonwealth Bank of Australia, has agreed to buy French broadcasting group TDF’s Finland business. The company, known as Digita, owns Finland’s largest broadcast tower network as well as offering...
China arbitrator dispute leaves foreign investors uneasy
The China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC), the national body responsible for resolving commercial disputes, has suspended its Shanghai and Shenzhen branches. The move has provoked concerns among foreign investors over...
Australia's QIC to use Burgiss Group PE software platform
QIC, one of the largest institutional investors in Australia, has deployed a private equity software platform designed by The Burgiss Group, a New Jersey-based software solutions provider.
Apollo launches two Asia real estate funds
Apollo Global Management has launched two funds that will invest in commercial real estate in Asia, seeking up to $750 million in capital. It comes barely three months after the private equity firm disclosed that it has raised about $255 million for an...
China's NDRC backs Gobi's second RMB fund
China’s National Development Reform Commission (NDRC) has invested RMB50 million ($7.9 million) in Gobi Partners' second renminbi-denominated fund. The latest injection takes the Yingzhi RMB Fund to RMB350 million in size.
Silk Road Finance enters Myanmar
Frontier markets-focused investment bank Silk Road Finance has set up a Myanmar subsidiary and won a mandate to raise a private equity and venture capital fund dedicated to investing in the country.
Ping An launches $157m venture capital fund
Ping An Insurance, the world's second-largest life insurer by market value, has established a RMB1 billion ($157 million) venture capital fund. It will target sectors including financial services, consumer products, healthcare, automobiles and tech, media...
Woori launches $495m PE fund with Posco, EIG
Korea’s Woori Asset Management has launched a private equity fund in partnership with domestic steelmaker Posco and US-based EIG Global Energy Partners. The vehicle was created in February and has a target size of KRW560 billion ($495 million), with Woori...
GIC boosts cash exposure, warns of global volatility
Government of Singapore Investment Corp’s (GIC) exposure to alternative assets remained unchanged during the year ended March 2012 as cash reserves rose steeply at the expense of fixed income and developed market public equities holdings.
Asia fundraising: A box-checking exercise
Was I surprised last week to find out that FountainVest Partners had accumulated more than 80% of the capital targeted for its second China fund after less than five months on the road? Not particularly. In a difficult fundraising environment, this particular...
LP interview: New York State Common Retirement Fund
New York State Common Retirement Fund has put scandals behind it and, buoyed by two years of positive performance and limited liabilities overhand, is looking to boost Asia private equity exposure
Clearwater gets $575m for fund IV
Profit warnings issued by Chinese companies in recent weeks suggest that the corporate sector is feeling the effects of slowing economic growth. Industrial profit was down 2.2% in the first half of 2012, compared to a 28.7% gain in the corresponding period...
LPs endorse Kerogen's Asia energy strategy
Barely 48 hours before Kerogen Capital announced a final close of just over $1 billion for its debut fund, the PE firm received two endorsements of its investment thesis. First, CNOOC agreed to buy Canadian oil and gas major Nexen for $15.1 billion plus...
KBank to launch Thailand's first infrastructure fund
Kasikornbank, the financial adviser to Solar Power, a subsidiary of Thailand's biggest solar-farm developer SPCG, is in the process of raising the country's first infrastructure fund. It is targeting THB5 billion ($158 million).
China relaxes QFII rules to include private equity
Private equity firms will be allowed to apply for licenses under China's Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (QFII) program, offering greater freedom to invest in domestic debt and equities. The move is part of wider efforts to open up and liberalize...
Bedell Cristin to offer BVI legal services from Singapore
International law firm Bedell Cristin has opened an office in Singapore from which it will provide British Virgin Islands (BVI) legal services to clients throughout Asia. Stephen Adams, who joined Bedell from BVI law firm Barker Adams at the beginning...
SAFE commits $500m to Blackstone property fund – report
China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) has reportedly committed $500 million to The Blackstone Group’s latest real estate private equity fund. Blackstone Real Estate Partners VII has proved popular with investors and Stephen Schwarzman,...
Morrison & Co raising $1b for NZ infra fund
Australasian infrastructure investor Morrison & Co. is reportedly looking to raise up to $1 billion for a private equity fund that will target low-risk global infrastructure projects.