Analysis
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Mekong Capital has spent the last two years helping Pharmacity bring Vietnam’s outdated retail pharmacy market into the modern age.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
Vietnam inbound investment: Regional rivals
Strategic interest in Vietnam is growing, especially among companies within Asia looking to tap growth no longer available at home. PE investors see them as partners – and sometimes as competitors
Vietnam outbound expansion: Brands apart
A booming domestic market and lack of success stories will likely keep outbound expansion a low priority for Vietnam’s investors and entrepreneurs until a suitable market niche can be found
Vietnam banking: Where credit is due
Vietnam’s economic future is tied to an attractive but immature and constrained banking sector. Investors are prodding the edges of a precarious opportunity set
Emerging Asia healthcare: Pilot programs
Buy-and-build strategies, a mainstay of the PE toolkit in developed markets, are gaining exposure in emerging Asia’s healthcare sector. Proving a viable exit path will be the key to widespread adoption
Kyobo Life: The mother of all puts
Put options amount to threats seldom acted upon. By demanding that the chairman of Korea’s third-largest life insurer buy back their shares, a group of investors has taken Asian PE into uncharted territory
Investcorp: Into Asia
Investcorp entered the region last year through a fund commitment in China and the acquisition of an alternative investment platform in India. The firm’s top executives explain the rationale
GP profile: IMM Private Equity
As one of oldest GPs in South Korea, IMM Private Equity has helped to show both domestic and global investors that the PE community can bring major benefits to the country’s corporate sector
China AI: Deep questions
Concerns around valuations, commercialization timelines, deal targeting, and brand perceptions are coming into focus as China’s AI ecosystem catapults to global prominence
Fund focus: Old heads, new firm
Just over two years after its founders spun out from KKR, DCP Capital has raised China’s joint-largest first-time fund on record. The firm sees opportunities emerging in a changing commercial environment
Grab vs Go-Jek: Hitting the gas
As Grab and Go-Jek accumulate war chests to finance their battle for leadership in Indonesia’s online services space, the greatest benefit could go to the next generation of local technology entrepreneurs
China fintech in Indonesia: Uncertainty bites
Indonesia’s fintech space represents an attractive market for Chinese start-ups looking to go cross-border. However, their reputation has been soured by misbehaving P2P lending platforms
Indonesia exits: Unmet expectations?
Indonesia has become a source of frustration for LPs that want to see more exits. A weak currency, slower growth and rising competition aren’t helping GPs as they seek to deliver the required returns
Indonesia infrastructure: Forging frameworks
Indonesia has set the stage for more private sector involvement in a government-dominated and desperately underdeveloped infrastructure space. A range of intangibles could impede the integration
1Q analysis: China malaise
First quarter analysis: China uncertainty hits PE investment; public market instability holds back IPOs; distress strategies underpin India fundraising as commitments to China-focused managers plummet
China tech valuations: Unnatural acts
China’s tech sector is gripped by uncertainty, but some GPs will do anything to avoid marking down their portfolios. LPs are entitled to ask whether unicorns are still worthy of a billion-dollar valuation
