For the first time, India has topped the Asian Private Equity chart in terms of deal value. India saw PE inflows to the tune of US $9.9bn from 290 deals in 2007, says the the Centre for Asia Private Equity Research (CAPER). China is second in the list with total PE amount of US $9.5bn, followed by Taiwan at US $5.8bn.
In Asia (including Japan), India has been fourth in investment volume for the 2004-2006 period. Incidentally, Japan which has been No.1 since 2003 except for last year when Australia topped the charts, dropped to sixth place with PE deals worth US $3.2bn, according to the CAPER data.
In 2007, the Asian private equity industry saw a rising number of Asia-based limited partners, says the CAPER. An additional US$36.4bn of fresh capital came into the market, but the deal value declined by 21% to US$42.2bn, it adds.
"The industry also witnessed a new high in divestment activities, with US$17.3bn of realised capital being returned to investors' coffers during the year," according to the regional PE research tracker.
Institutional Investors
- 292 institutional investors were known to have made allocations
- corporate investors dominated, accounting for 20% of the known allocations, followed by government agencies at 11%
Funds
- US$36.4bn of fresh capital was recorded during 2007, an increase of 28.3% compared to that for 2006
- venture capital funds recorded the biggest growth at US$7.1bn, an impressive 64.7% surge compared to US$4.3bn for 2006
- buyout funds accounted for US$15.1bn, while funds for growth/expansion situations amounted to US$12.3bn
- China led in recording the largest pool of fresh capital at US$6.9bn, followed by India with US$5.3bn of fresh capital
Investments
- US$42.2bn in aggregate deal value recorded, a decline of 21%
- average deal size has declined by 32.4%, to US$61.1 million
- for the first time since 2005, companies in growth/expansion stage attracted the lion's share of private equity capital, accounting for 50% of the US$42.2bn
- commitments to buyouts slipped to US$20.1bn, a far cry from the US$37.4bn for 2006
- India led in recording the largest aggregate deal value, at US$9.9bn, a fraction ahead of the US$9.5bn garnered by China
Divestments
- 380 divestment processes known to have been initiated, double that for 2006
- US$17.3bn of realised capital recorded
- Medium IRRs for realised capital surged to 67%, compared to 51% for 2006
- South Korea led in divestment performance, where investors were able to realise US$4.8bn, representing 27.7% of the returned capital.
