PE funds see record-high capital raised

Capital raised by private equity funds in China surged to a record high in the first 11 months of this year, according to a private report.

A total of 405 PE funds had completed fundraising between January and November, up 23 percent from the same period of last year, Beijing-based Zero2IPO Research Center said in a report yesterday.

Capital raised by 381 funds that have revealed their financial data totaled US$56.2 billion, marking an 82 percent surge year on year and was the most since 2009, said the report.

Of the new funds, 368 were yuan-denominated and they raised a combined US$42 billion, or 75 percent of the total, compared with US$14.3 billion raised by 37 funds denominated in foreign currencies.

Meanwhile, PE funds sealed 892 investment deals worth US$50.4 billion during the period, a surge of 125 percent year-on-year jump, according to the report.

"The figures reflect a strong investment appetite that was fueled by the ongoing reform of state-owned enterprises," said Miao Wangchun, analyst with Zero2IPO.

China is promoting a mixed-ownership reform in the shareholding structure of SOEs, which offers opportunities for private funds. Miao said rising overseas mergers and acquisitions, an active private placement market and a booming Internet finance also boosted PE funds.

The Internet sector captured 129 deals — the most — followed by 104 in real estate and 76 in biotechnology and health care.

By investment, the property sector topped with US$9.5 billion, followed by US$7.3 billion in energy and minerals and US$6.7 billion in retail.