Analysis
2023 preview: Hard-tech
As China’s technology space has shifted toward more advanced domains of R&D, bubbles have formed and geopolitics have complicated investment. There is scope for some turnaround on these points
2023 preview: Buyouts
Even though debt is more readily available in Asia than in the US or Europe, financing costs are up, and buyout investors are reluctant to move for assets in an uncertain and overvalued market
2023 preview: Fundraising
Fundraising is difficult for all but the fortunate few private equity managers in Asia. GPs are delaying launches, shaking up strategies, and offering sweeteners; LPs are in no hurry to make commitments
2023 preview: Private debt
Asia-based private debt managers hope to take advantage of renewed LP appetite for the asset class, while enjoying higher returns driven by rising interest rates and widening spreads
2023 preview: Exits
IPOs and trade sales have been muted in 2022, but industry participants expect strategic investors to be more active in Asia next year, especially as valuations moderate. Increased secondary deal flow is also likely
2023 preview: Mass access to PE
More individuals will be able to invest in private equity as fund fractionalisation technology matures. But a global downturn, ever-malleable regulations, and blockchain gloom loom large
2023 preview: India PE
India’s domestic growth story appears unobstructed, but some international investors could hold their fire. The local PE industry will not graduate to the next level without that foreign capital
2023 preview: China macro
Private equity is eager to re-engage with China as a sudden post-pandemic re-opening reminds investors focused on the country to expect the unexpected. A weak global picture could spoil the party
2023 preview: Australia PE
Market pressures on Australian businesses, including an increasingly serious labour shortage, are a challenge and opportunity for domestic private equity. So is China, but in less discernible ways
2023 preview: Southeast Asia VC
Southeast Asia VC is in fair position to hobble through a global downturn and cooling appetite for all things tech despite controversial politics in the region’s largest market and a dicey IPO outlook
2023 preview: Japan middle market
Confidence in Japan’s middle market is whipping up new deal flow, new funds, and new exit channels that will play out in 2023. This includes the possible reanimation of a dormant IPO market
2022 in review: End of the party?
Fundraising favours the few; deployment becomes progressively slower as investors agonise about valuations, macro prospects, and financing costs; sponsor-to-sponsor deals prop up exits
Asia secondaries: Layers and structures
With private market valuations yet to see a meaningful reset in Asia and heightened risk factors in China, investors are exploring ways to drive secondary deal flow by closing the bid-ask spread
FTX: Crypto dismisses another deathblow
An emerging technology giant has imploded. Regulations are set to tighten. Investors hit pause but remain confident about the long-term outlook. Business as usual in crypto
Portfolio: Trustar Capital and Trustlink
Through Trustlink, Trustar Capital has successfully executed a buy-and-build strategy in China’s facility management space, using scale and standardisation to win contracts from multinationals
ESG: The case for convergence
With ISSB pursuing pre-eminence in sustainability-related financial disclosures and TCFD emerging as a preferred climate framework, investors and investees will have to get more serious about reporting
Sport investment: China fading
Once a white-hot investment theme in China, and for Chinese investors looking overseas, sport has slipped into obscurity amid concerns about regulation and monetisation
China to Singapore: A VC invasion
Chinese venture capital firms are establishing and expanding operations in Singapore in response to challenges at home and to address the Southeast Asian market. Do they have staying power?
Hong Kong vs Singapore: New economy IPOs
Hong Kong and Singapore are both keen to attract listings by high-growth technology companies. Some of the targets are the same, but the strategic positioning is different
Hong Kong vs Singapore: No zero-sum game
Pandemic-related restrictions have dented confidence in Hong Kong as a private equity hub, while Singapore is on a roll. But gains for one don’t necessarily translate into losses for the other
Sport investment: Into the value chain
Investors are increasingly drawn to the structural nuances, sticky customer bases, and long tail of ancillary opportunities that exist around professional sports. Asia’s role is small but growing
Taking PE in-house: Less limited partners
Institutional investors continue to pursue more active roles in private equity, even as a souring macro backdrop makes the game harder to play. Talent is always the key variable
Portfolio: Warburg Pincus and HTDK Group
Warburg Pincus’ investment in Chinese medical devices industry services provider HTDK Group is riding the domestic healthcare wave. Bringing foreigners to the party is the next chapter
