Asia
Deal focus: Airwallex plots Asia payments expansion
Airwallex recently became Australia's newest unicorn following a $100 million Series C round, but the company's growth is largely based on an understanding of Chinese demand. Regional expansion is now the priority
PAG appoints KKR dealmaker as India PE head
PAG has hired Nikhil Srivastava from KKR to lead its India private equity operations as the firm looks to expand its coverage of the country.
Q&A: Lalamove's Blake Larson
Hong Kong delivery start-up Lalamove recently raised $300 million in Series D funding. Blake Larson, head of the company’s international division, discusses business models, cross-border expansion, and vehicle sales
Asia PE: Shifting sands
The private equity industry in Asia is bifurcating on various trend lines around fundraising, exits, and institutionalization. GPs may require a more complex playbook to survive and thrive
Institutional investors: China access
Are concerns over trade and the economy causing US LPs to back away from Chinese private equity? The more pertinent question is whether - and how - they already have exposure to the market
Asian PE firms still struggle with tech investments - Bain & Co
Private equity firms are deploying increasing amounts of capital into Chinese internet plays without having a clear understanding of what the target businesses are worth or how to add value to them, according to Bain & Company.
Brookfield to buy majority stake in Oaktree
Brookfield Asset Management has agreed to acquire a 62% stake in Oaktree Capital in a deal worth about $4.7 billion.
HSBC, Singtel join $25m round for Singapore's CXA
Singapore-based digital health start-up CXA Group has raised $25 million in funding from a string of strategic backers, including HSBC and the Asia investment arms of Singtel and Sumitomo Corporation.
Bain & Co names new Asia Pacific head
Bain & Company has appointed Satish Shankar as regional managing partner for Asia Pacific, replacing Dale Cottrell, who has held the position for the past six years.
HarbourVest promotes Minjin Chung to managing director
HarbourVest Partners has promoted Minjin Chung (pictured), a principal based in Korea, to the level of managing director with responsibility for North Asia.
KKR hires Goldman's Asia ex-Japan investment banking head
KKR has appointed Kate Richdale, formerly chairman of investment banking for Asia ex-Japan at Goldman Sachs, to the new position of head of strategy and business development for Asia Pacific.
PE-backed logistics platform ESR files for Hong Kong IPO
ESR, a pan-Asian logistics and fund management platform that was seeded by Warburg Pincus, has filed for an IPO in Hong Kong.
PE holding periods: The optics of exits
Should you take a 3x return today or wait for a potentially larger exit next year? For GPs, this decision is complicated by fears of a downturn, the timing of future fundraises, and conflicting LP feedback
TPG closes seventh Asia fund at $4.6b
TPG Capital has closed its seventh pan-Asian fund at $4.6 billion after approximately two years in the market. The vehicle is already 40% committed across 12 companies.
1955 Capital leads Series A for sustainable foods specialist
1955 Capital, a cross-border PE firm that invests in US and European technologies with application potential in Asia, has led a $33 million Series A round for edible protein developer Sustainable Bioproducts.
Bain & Co's Suvir Varma joins Campbell Lutyens as advisor
Placement agent Campbell Lutyens has appointed Suvir Varma, until recently head of Bain & Company’s financial investor practice in Asia Pacific, to its global advisory board.
Asian PE pioneer Randy Kwei dies
Randy Kwei, one of the early movers in Asian private equity and more recently an advisory partner at middle-market buyout firm Shaw Kwei & Partners, has died at the age of 83.
Asia start-ups: Global reach
Asian start-ups are under increasing pressure to head off competition by pursuing global expansion agendas in their earliest stages of development. They must pay careful attention to social disparities
Profile: EmergeVest's Heath Zarin
Heath Zarin has taken EmergeVest out of the Asian private equity mainstream, leveraging a specialist strategy and operational expertise to create the UK’s largest private logistics business
Co-investment: Partners in time
The decision to commit due diligence resources to a potential co-investment balances complex factors around timing, strategy, and relational comfort. Efficiency and patience are indispensable virtues
Macro uncertainty: Mind games
A maze of strategies, philosophies, and preconceptions is underpinning a sense of confidence among alternatives investors as global economic uncertainty mounts. It must be navigated carefully
LP interview: PennSERS
Bryan Lewis, CIO of Pennsylvania State Employees’ Retirement System, discusses accessing Asia, approaches to co-investment, and paring a bloated PE portfolio into a smaller set of strategic relationships
Baring Asia, Onex to list Clarivate through reverse merger
Baring Private Equity Asia will list Clarivate Analytics – an education business it acquired from Thomson Reuters in conjunction with Onex Corporation – through a merger with a special purpose investment vehicle that trades in New York.
Asia PE investment hits $183b in 2018
Private equity investment in Asia slowed to $183.3 billion in 2018 – from $207.3 billion the previous year – as a decline in large-scale buyout activity offset a surge in late-stage rounds for technology companies.