The Blackstone Group has launched its onshore private equity fund management company in China to broaden its presence in the country’s private-equity scene, reported FINalternatives.
The New York-based private equity firm intends to raise CNY5 billion yuan from Chinese investors for the fund, a joint-venture with the government of China’s Pudong New Area.
Speaking to The Wall Street Journal, Stephen Schwarzman, chief of Blackstone, said:“We see this as a start of a more wide-ranging expansion in China. China is a required course, not an elective, for any sensible global financial institution. Running both an onshore and offshore China fund will allow Blackstone to both increase its staff in the region, as well as giving it access to smaller deals in the country.”
Reportedly, China owns a $3 billion non-voting stake in Blackstone, and its sovereign wealth firm, China Investment Corp, has awarded Blackstone a $500m fund of hedge funds mandate. The latest joint-venture is actually Blackstone’s second base of operations in China, after opening an office in the Chinese capital, Beijing, last year.
