WSJ: Hony Capital Joins China’s Private Equity Convertibility Experiment

BEIJING—Hony Capital Ltd., one of China’s largest homegrown private-equity firms, has agreed to become the first investment manager to test the convertibility of the yuan in an experimental financial hub being built near Hong Kong.

China last month designated the Qianhai region in the southern metropolis of Shenzhen as a testing ground for freer currency movements and other service-sector changes, as the country continues its drive to make the yuan a global currency. Nationwide, Beijing still limits yuan … ===> Continue Reading at Wall Street Journal (Subscription Required)

WSJ Q&A: NewQuest’s Bonnie Lo on Asia’s Evolving Market

Q&A from the Wall Street Journal’s Private Equity Beat:

We see the biggest opportunities in China and India, primarily because they are the largest and most active primary private equity markets in the region. They account for around 40% and 30% of deals invested since 2005 – 4,000 deals – [and] primary private equity activity ultimately drives secondary opportunities. We are also beginning to see opportunities in Southeast Asia. Countries like Vietnam and Indonesia are seeing increasing attention as PE investors seek growth outside of China and India. ===>More at Wall Street Journal

WSJ: Private Equity Fundraising In Asia Down in 2012

(Wall Street Journal) Private-equity fundraising and transactions decreased in almost every country in Asia during the first half of 2012, including China, as weak markets make IPO exits tough while continued high valuations put off investors, according to data from industry publication Asian Venture Capital Journal.

China continued to dominate fundraising, however, with local currency funds taking up a larger share of the total.

While the biggest funds like Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and TPG Capital continued to raise ever-bigger Asia-focused funds, fundraising in the region reached $26.2 billion in the first half of this year, a 23.4% drop from the same period a year ago and the lowest level since 2009. Less than 700 funds were closed in the period. Read More at the Wall Street Journal

WSJ Private Equity News: The Morning Leverage: PIPE Is Smoking in Asia

This is private equity, right? And yet more PE firms in Asia are targeting private investments in public equity, or PIPE deals, Sonja Cheung reports for LBO Wire. Baring Private Equity Asia, for instance, is buying more than 50 million shares in Hong Kong-listed skin-care company Magic Holdings International from Queenherb Enterprises for $18.8 million. Baring will hold a 5% stake in the company.

Bay Grove Capital’s cold storage platform Lineage Logistics is acquiring warehousing logistics company Castle & Cooke Cold Storage, LBO Wire’s Beina Xu reports exclusively. CCCS provides cold and dry storage for products like ice cream and frozen pizza, while Lineage Logistics’ products “are commodity-focused—raw seafood, poultry, strawberries and the like,” so there’s little overlap, said Bay Grove Managing Director Kevin Marchetti, who clearly hasn’t tried our famous shrimp-and-strawberry pizza. Read the full story here (subscription required). SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (blog)