Opinion
Recognizing excellence – The 2012 AVCJ China Awards
Recent reports suggest the Chinese economy is slowing down and the potential consequences are the subject to feverish speculation among investors around the world who 10 years might not have thought twice about the issue. Is the mainland economy set for...
Same fundamentals, better investment story
Indonesia has emerged as a priority destination for private equity managers in recent years. It is not difficult to understand the attraction. The country with a population of 250 million was unscathed by the recent financial crisis and boasts rising...
Big payouts detract from the real issues
The Last couple of months have been interesting times for private equity but perhaps largely for the wrong reasons. As all of you know, Mitt Romney’s bid for the Republican presidential candidacy has spurred criticism from rival politicians keen to...
An Australian-Asian story
Australia is the exception in Asian private equity: a market in which buyouts are routine, leveraged finance is readily available and entry and exit activity is relatively transparent. It is, one is tempted to say, Japan without the intrigue and inscrutability.
Asia’s aspirational brands: It’s how you pick ‘em
Should we be surprised that L Capital, the private equity arm of luxury goods giant LVMH, thinks its Asia operations have the capacity to handle a $1 billion fund? Given the scale of consumer sector opportunities in the region, not really. But a more...
China’s silent auctions
Numbers alone don't really do justice to China’s post-global financial crisis credit boom, but they are impressive nonetheless. A RMB4 trillion ($633 billion) stimulus package was announced at the end of 2008, bank lending rose nearly 130% over the...
Slow progress for foreign RMB funds
Renminbi-denominated private equity funds have been one of the most important trends in the last few years. The market has grown tremendously with more than US$24 billion being raised in 2011 alone. Most of this capital has gone to local firms, especially...
PE and Chinese outbound investment
Who writes CITIC Private Equity's scripts? The day after the conclusion of the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting, where China and its role in the global economy was inevitably an area of focus, it was announced that Sany Heavy Industry would purchase...
Private equity and Asia’s new rich
On two occasions last week, fund managers told me they were looking to attract capital, but not from the standard institutional LP. Is this a coincidence or the start of a new trend? It’s not yet clear. But one contributing factor of which we can be...
The irresistible rise of corporate VC
Corporate venture capital units are the elephant in the room. No matter where you tread in the VC sphere, these operators make an appearance – but rarely in the same form.
Don’t lose your head in a hot market
As we head into 2012, will investors’ appetite for Asian private equity be checked? Apparently not.
The growing importance of investor relations
As Asian private equity continues to evolve into a true asset class, the role of investor relations and fundraising professionals has become increasingly important. Over the years, I’ve watched as private equity firms place ever more emphasis on the...
Asian private equity to return to full force in 2012?
As it is customary for this time of the year, many of the professionals in Asian private equity are beginning to go on their holidays. While dealmaking activity continues for some of the harder working ones, it is clear that activity is becoming slower....
Sharing ideas in India
I was in India last week for our local event, the final one of the year, which successfully took place in Mumbai. As usual, key executives of the local private equity industry got their chance to share their views on the market with their peers from other...
Established Indian GPs shine in fundraising
It's not secret that many private equity firms are gearing up for a major fundraising spree in Asia. From the global firms like KKR, Bain and TPG to the Asia-based regional funds and focused, country-specific funds, private equity vehicles are in the...
AVCJ Forum Keynotes: Asia becomes even more important
As most of you know, our annual AVCJ Asian Private Equity & Venture Forum took place successfully in Hong Kong last week. The sold-out crowd was treated to, amongst other things, insights from some of the most successful dealmakers in the world and plenty...
Congratulations to our award winners
On behalf of my colleagues at the Asian Venture Capital Journal, I will like to congratulate the winners of our 2011 AVCJ Asian Private Equity and Venture Capital Awards.
Asia fundraising – more than just a renminbi story
The last few years have not been good for most Asian private equity fundraisers. The global financial crisis made the usual institutional investors shied away from the asset class, forcing funds already in the market to scale back their targets slightly.
Last chance to vote in the AVCJ Awards
We are now in the final stretch of our 2011 AVCJ Private Equity & Venture Capital Awards. These awards were launched 11 years ago with the specific aim of recognizing and rewarding excellence in the pan-Asia Pacific private equity and venture capital...
Corporate Japan looks for growth overseas
Japanese companies need to take on the world. Local private equity professionals at the 2011 AVCJ Private Equity & Venture Forum Japan conference in Tokyo, which I am chairing, see globalization as the major current theme for corporate Japan. Indeed,...
Launching the AVCJ PE Week website…
Optimism is once again in the air as the markets continue to recover and the private equity world gets ready to converge in Asia for the AVCJ Private Equity & Venture Forum. Now in its 24th year, the conference has become an ecosystem in itself and will...
Countdown to the AVCJ Forum
In just over a month, we will be holding our 24th Annual AVCJ Private Equity & Venture Forum in Hong Kong. As in the past, AVCJ’s annual event has attracted the biggest and most influential names in the private equity industry including such leaders...
Submit your nominations for the 2011 AVCJ Awards
Diligent readers will recall that we’ve first announced in the August 30 issue of AVCJ that nominations for our 2011 AVCJ Asian Private Equity & Venture Capital Awards are open – to readers as well as the rest of the private equity industry.
Private equity and the state
The state, particularly in Asian countries, has always played a big role in the private equity industry. While almost all growing regional economies have helped nurture PE through sovereign wealth funds – fueled by foreign exchange and other cash reserves...