Analysis
Portfolio company boards: Gurus wanted
Filling board seats for portfolio companies is more art than science in both private equity and venture capital. Investors must approach the challenge with flexible playbooks
Southeast Asia buyouts: Flexibility first
Southeast Asia has yet to deliver a consistent stream of large-cap buyout deals. Private equity investors must be creative, flexible and patient in trying to crack the market
Southeast Asia exits: Greener pastures
Southeast Asia’s internal growth and rising appeal among global investors in recent years have fed expectations that PE and VC exits will follow. The logic is sturdy but detailed projections are elusive
2Q analysis: Mixed fortunes
Second quarter analysis: Spin-outs reflect challenges for China fundraising; weak buyout activity continues to hold back Asia PE investment; Korea heads the exit charts as China falls back
Southeast Asia VC: Waiting for the breakout
Fundraising has accelerated in Southeast Asia’s venture capital space in recent years, but the ecosystem remains fragile. Expansion will be difficult until GPs can prove the viability of the market to LPs
China VC and US regulation: Defensive positions
Chinese venture capital firms and strategic investors have found their path to US tech start-ups barred by new regulations. It is possible to find a way around, but it requires compromise
US-India cross-border: Taking the leap
US-India cross-border deals present a tempting opportunity for Indian GPs, but managing investments in another market requires careful use of resources and a level of commitment that not all firms can match
China-US decoupling: Silicon curtain
Evidence is mounting that US and Chinese ecosystems for advanced technologies are careening toward an antagonistic decoupling. Investors are philosophical and pragmatic
China GPs: The Centurium strategy
After more than a decade with Warburg Pincus in China, David Li struck out on his own with Centurium Capital. Applying technology to traditional business models is central to his investment thesis
India secondaries: Mixed signals
India has skirted around an expected boom in secondaries activity for the past couple of years, but investors haven’t lost faith in the narrative’s eventual unfolding. The devil will be in the details
Japan secondary buyouts: Between friends
Negative perceptions and local sensitivities have stymied the development of secondary buyouts in Japan. International GPs – plus some of their domestic peers – have the firepower to drive change
Global GPs and Japanese LPs: Stirring the pot
As Japanese institutional investors seek to initiate or change up their private equity programs, GPs looking to build long-term relationships in the country must find the right way to engage
Revitalizing Japan's conglomerates: Big ticket
Japan’s manufacturing conglomerates are continuing to define the economy as they either adapt or succumb to new technology trends. The process is adding a new ripple to the local carve-out market
Japan PE fundraising: Upsizing
Japanese private equity firms are looking to raise larger funds, based on what is described as a blossoming investment opportunity. Do they risk biting off more than they can chew?
Vietnam: Entrepreneurial instincts
Vietnam’s private sector is rich in opportunity and many people have ambitions of building the next Mobile World. But engagement between entrepreneurs and private equity doesn’t always run smooth
Greater Bay Area: Promise keepers
The Greater Bay Area initiative plans to speed up regional integration in the Pearl River Delta, with Hong Kong set to be a major beneficiary. Questions remain about the government’s ability to follow through
GP profile: Chiratae Ventures
Patient, culture-oriented Chiratae Ventures has grown and diversified in step with India’s gradually blossoming VC market. Its latest expansions suggest this trajectory is set to accelerate
China's pet products industry: Paws for thought
China’s pet products and services industry is benefiting from closer relations between man and beast, but not every market segment will turn out a winner for private equity investors
In scope: Asian fund managers and Cayman
Asian private equity firms may start moving their fund management entities away from the Cayman Islands due to new economic substance requirements. Is Hong Kong ready to accept them?
Portfolio: Mekong and Pharmacity
Mekong Capital has spent the last two years helping Pharmacity bring Vietnam’s outdated retail pharmacy market into the modern age. Now the company is preparing to fend off a wave of copycats
China start-ups: Overtime
China’s start-up ecosystem is conforming to global norms by championing demanding work schedules, but companies must still consider ways to keep their employees suitably motivated
Food tech: Irresistible recipes
Food technology is a virtually endless horizon of profound and unignorable investment imperatives mistaken as a niche category. Alternative protein is the first opportunity set to gain serious traction
Governance standards: A matter of integrity
Traditionally the overlooked, underappreciated or misrepresented facet of ESG, governance is gaining prominence in emerging markets private equity as investors reassess risk exposure
China online education: Passing the test?
Capital has poured into China’s online education sector in recent years, but with losses mounting and valuations called into question, investors are finding that not all business models are created equal
