Analysis
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
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