Opinion
PE partnerships – A route into Indonesia
The recently announced TPG-North Star Pacific share swap got me thinking about collaboration between private equity firms. Global PE players have been using local funds to gain access to new markets for some time now, and quite a few have committed capital...
Private equity – it’s all about the personalities
When I first joined AVCJ, I was told by my publisher Dan Schwartz that private equity is a people’s business. The full significance of these words didn’t hit home until sometime later, during the dotcom boom, when I saw how potent a mix of savvy investors...
Emerging markets, fewer buyouts
Asia is top of many investors'wish lists, yet it is interesting how many Western GPs and LPs refer to the region as an emerging market. To those of us living in Asia – and many others on the outside – the term seems hopelessly outdated.
The Asian office: Regional, local or both?
I've said before that it's high time GPs based in US and Europe resume plans to set up offices in Asia. Before these ambitions were mothballed during the global financial crisis, I was often asked where in the region it is best to locate an office. The...
You’re only as strong as your brand name
I was surorised by the number of LPs at the recent AVCJ Private Equity & Venture Forum in the US that were familiar with the top tier private equity funds in Asia.
Private equity, the ASEAN way
South East Asia has returned as a favored destination for private equity investors. With a population of over 600 million people and a combined GDP of $1.8 trillion, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) – comprising Indonesia, Malaysia,...
Now is the time to open an Asian office
The last few years haev been among the most challenging for private equity. Armed with many of the best practices in the financial services, the industry emerged from the global financial crisis battered but not broken. And now, having turned the corner,...
China's rainmakers go solo
There have been many articles, books, discussions and conferences on Chinese entrepreneurism. This has come under the spotlight again with the recent wave of IPOs by mainland businesses in various bourses around the world. While many of these activities...
Japanese GPs still see opportunities
Private equity investors are thinking twice about trouble-hit Japan, but reports of its demise are greatly exaggerated
The benefits of making yourself heard
In a recent conversation with a prominent venture capitalist, I was asked about the value in speaking at an AVCJ event. For those of us in the company, it is almost a no-brainer.
Make space in your diary...
I am pleased to announce the official launch of our AVCJ Asian Private Equity & Venture Forum 2011 and this year’s conference rocks. I am obviously biased but our roster of speakers simply speaks for itself.
Is Australian private equity headed down under?
A recent report suggests that the high value of the Australian dollar against the US dollar is making life difficult – i.e. more expensive – for private equity funds, which tend to operate in the US currency. Taxes imposed by the government on asset...
The Winners Circle: 2011 AVCJ China Awards
Last Friday, at the closing luncheon of our highly successful AVCJ Private Equity & Venture Forum/China conference, we gave out our first ever dedicated awards focused on private equity and venture capital activity across China. Excited by the positive...
Rising pressures in Chinese private equity
IN THE PAST FEW YEARS, PRIVATE equity and venture capital firms have already established the industry as a credible source of financing for Chinese companies in need of capital. With the recent IPOs of Chinese entities, in particularly NASDAQ (that have...
It’s a private equity world out there
FOR MANY OF OUR READERS, THE WORDS ‘private equity’ may be most well associated with the business their company is conducting, private equity investing. Although that is true, private equity has grown to encompass a bigger meaning, especially in a...
Private equity in China’s insurance sector
The growth of the insurance sector in China has rocketed in recent years with the potential still remaining tremendous and private equity has been in the center of this rise. And it has been a profitable relationship for GPs that are able to take stakes...
Announcing the AVCJ Private Equity & Venture Capital Awards China
2003 was probably one of the gloomiest years in recent memory for people in Asia. It was in that year that we launched our first annual AVCJ Private Equity & Venture Capital Awards at the suggestion of Walden’s Lip Bu Tan, who rightly proposed injecting...
Malaysia and the rest of ASEAN
I was recently in Malaysia last week and got a chance to catch up with a number of old friends in Kuala Lumpur about the local private equity industry, which has been getting a bit of ink from the press lately as a result of Affinity Equity Partners and...
Succession in private equity
Perhaps it is a sign of market maturity, or maybe it is a signal that the effects of the global financial crisis has passed, but the past few months have seen quite a few human resources changes within the Asian private equity industry. While changing...
Commitment to markets
The commitment by private equity firms to a particular country market was the subject of a recent conversation with a prominent financial adviser. The Taiwan-based adviser claims that private equity firms are having problems making deals in Taiwan because...
A time of reflection
Reading and watching the news of late is like flipping through a modern day interpretation of the Old Testament: pestilence, war, famine and death are everywhere, and it seems someone up above is angry. From Japan to Libya and New Zealand to Yemen, the...
Saluting the Japanese people
On behalf of the editors and staff of the Asian Venture Capital Journal, I extend our company’s deepest sympathies and condolences to people affected by the Japan earthquake on March 11 and the resulting tsunamis. Even from our offices in Hong Kong’s...
The changing face of Indian private equity
What's happening in Indian private equity? The past few months have seen tremendous changes in India’s PE industry as local professionals move around in a happy merry-go-round of new and old faces. Some industry watchers say these changes and movements...
Big is Better: Are mega funds making a comeback?
As the Asian private equity industry's biggest funds gear up for the next big round of fundraising, the question that comes to mind is “how large will Asian private equity funds become?” While Asian funds will still have a long way to go before they...