Mirroring unrelenting investor demand for exposure to China and India, Carlyle Group, a US-based private equity firm, has raised $1 billion for its growth fund targeting smaller Asian companies, reported Financial Times.
Carlyle said that the size of the latest Asian growth capital fund, which is almost 50% larger than its previous fund, had taken the firm’s aggregate amount raised in Asia, to $2 billion.
In an interview to the newspaper, Wayne Tsou, Head of Carlyle Asia Growth Partners, said: “Our successful fund-raising reflects investors’ greater desire for returns that involve less risk and leverage, as well as their desire for targeted exposure to fast-growing Asian companies. Despite the economic downturn, most of our growth capital portfolio companies [in Asia] have achieved growth rates in the range of 20% to 50% over the last year.”
“China’s strong economic performance, successful implementation of its stimulus plan and incentive measures for small and medium-size enterprises are attracting global investors to the market,” he added.
