Private Equity

Philippines - Development Bank of the Philippines eyes venture capital unit

Source: BusinessWorld, 06 August 2009

The Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) is exploring the establishment of a venture capital fund that would provide financing to small businesses. The establishment of a venture capital fund may even take shorter than two years depending on whether it would fit into the bank's system. An issue that is being looked into is whether the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas would green-light it.

The DBP could create a subsidiary, adding this would be discussed at the bank's program and policy development division headed by Rey Magno-Teves, bank director from Mindanao. Simeon P. Marfori II, president of the Davao City Chamber of Commerce who first raised the idea of a venture capital fund that would invest in small and medium enterprises, challenged the bank to drop the collateral-based framework and adopt the "character and credit-worthiness mechanisms" in extending loans to small businesses.

China - Chinese PE managers remain optimistic over future stock market

Source: Xinhua News Agency, 09 August 2009

In the latest survey conducted by China Central Television (CCTV) and simu.com, nearly half of Chinese private equity (PE) managers voiced optimism about China's mainland stock market despite the share slump in the week ended on 8 August 2009 after gaining for seven consecutive weeks.

Among the 35 top PE managers interviewed, 45.71% predicted a bullish market in August 2009. Only 17.15% percent of them thought Chinese shares would decline in the month, while 37.14% said the market would enter a correction period. Meanwhile, PE managers remained cautious towards investment in the upcoming Growth Enterprise Market, the Chinese NASDAQ-style stock market, as only 8.57% of them said they planned to launch related trust products.

India - PE fund raising in global infra space dries up in Q2 2009

Source: The Economic Times, 09 August 2009

A global survey of 230 unlisted PE funds, with a focus on infrastructure sector, has showed that fund raising was zero in the second quarter of 2009. In the same quarter in 2008, about 14 such funds raised US$14 billion, Preqin research showed. Private equity fund raising in the infrastructure space literally dried up in the June quarter of 2009 with no deals being announced.

In the first half of 2009, three unlisted PE infra funds mopped up US$3.5 billion and all the fund closures came in the first quarter. Like many other sectors, infrastructure funds are experiencing the toughest fund raising conditions in the short history of the asset class. The key factor hindering fund managers at present are lack of available investor capital due the global economic crisis.

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