Analysis
Niche funds: Finding an angle
China has seen a proliferation of niche funds in recent years as GPs try to stand out from the crowd with differentiated strategies. Are investors – institutions, individuals or governments – buying into the story?
Secondaries: Bifurcation point
More LP interests in Asian funds are coming onto the secondary market, but the region remains the industry’s future rather than its present. Which investors will be around to witness it coming to bloom?
Litigation funds: The justice league
Litigation financiers are increasingly looking for opportunities in Asia, many making their investments out of private equity-style funds. But do they bring the same returns?
RMB fund-of-funds: Patience is a virtue
As some global fund-of-funds struggle to raise funds, their renminbi counterparts are struggling to find a purpose – government-backed vehicles excepted. A more mature LP base should bring more demand
Portfolio: Everstone Capital and IndoStar Capital Finance
While PE investors have been keen to capitalize on India’s financial services industry, Everstone Capital took a unique approach to the sector – building an independent non-banking financial company
Patent funds: Creative returns
Asia is now responsible for just over half of all patent filings worldwide. Will independent patent funds, which have already won a niche following in the US, catch on over here?
Asia Incubators: From acorns to oaks
As Asia’s tech start-up community flourishes, more incubators are setting up shop in the region in a bid to emulate Silicon Valley success – but what is the best way to do it?
Taiwan IPOs: An alternative exit
With the nascent T-shares program plus a string of incentives, Taiwan wants to establish itself as a hub for China IPOs. Can it pare down the regulatory detritus and make this dream come true?
Taiwan GPs: Cross-strait strategies
Taiwanese GPs are looking for investments in the higher growth markets of mainland China. But how do they differentiate themselves from Chinese private equity firms chasing similar deals?
Tech giants and VC: When the chips are down
Taiwan has a long history as a tech manufacturing powerhouse, but with the decline of the PC times have changed. Can the wavering tech giants re-invest themselves and what can VC do to help?
Taiwan buyouts: Back from the brink?
After a spike in buyouts in the mid-2000s, Taiwan sank from view due to private equity firms’ concerns about unpredictable deal approvals. Regulators are now trying to tempt them back with promises of reforms
China mobile gaming: Buy your way
China's online gaming companies are trying to extend their dominance to the growing mobile segment. Cash-rich and often publicly listed, the strategy is inorganic expansion, both at home and abroad
Qianhai: Beyond the hype
The Qianhai economic zone in Shenzhen is being primed as China's next global financial services hub, a place where private equity firms can raise local currency funds from overseas investors. How is it getting on?
China's insurers: Safety first
Chinese insurers have been able to invest in domestic private equity for three years and in overseas private equity for 10 months. Investments are proceeding slowly, but infrastructure is being put in place.
Japan's secondaries surge
Secondary deals in Japan spiked in 2011 as buyouts from before the global financial crisis found an exit. With the country's economic prospects improving, industry participants expect the flow to continue
Financial technology: The new normal
Initiatives are in place to make private equity reporting faster, more detailed and completely standardized. Are the guidelines a good fit for the industry in Asia and what are GPs doing to meet them?
China banking reform: Share the wealth
China's first step in interest rate liberalization might herald a series of reforms that make financial services more market-oriented. But where does shadow banking fit into it?
Australia mining: Swings and roundabouts
The end of the commodities super-cycle in Australia has impacted both mining companies and the businesses that serves them. Private equity can benefit, but only if it digs deep
Portfolio: CLSA Capital Partners and Indonesia's Sari Wangi
Sari Wangi is Indonesia's largest private tea player. CLSA Capital Partners invested not so much for exposure to the crop as what the company offers as a platform for distributing agricultural technology.
Caffeinated returns: Private equity's coffee shop craving
Private equity is already leveraging the growing popularity of coffee shops across Asia. But where is the next frontier – and is it all about the coffee?
A new alternative: SME liquidity in India
India has opened up a channel for domestic start-ups to sell shares without going through a full IPO. The platform offers new fundraising and exit options, but regulators could help by removing more red tape
Rich man's game: The cost of fundraising in Asia
Asian GPs and fund lawyers are struggling with a demand-supply imbalance. LPs are negotiating more and conceding less - but for all that managers say fundraising costs are going up, lawyers say fees are going down
China medical devices: Climbing the value chain
Driven by government policy, China's medical devices industry is growing rapidly and VC capital is flowing in. Picking winners requires a keen eye for new technology and potential distribution obstacles
2Q analysis: China in the spotlight
All is not well for China PE investment with one big deal disguising a period of relative inactivity; China exits, on the other hand, are prospering; and Asia PE fundraising is, of course, struggling