PEI Asia Roundtable: Chris Lerner Highlights Key Insights on Private Equity in APAC

At the recent Asia Roundtable hosted by PEI,  Chris Lerner, our Group Chairman and Co-Founder, shared valuable insights on the shifting landscape of private equity in the Asia-Pacific region.

China's Opportunities:
The shift is now from quantity to quality of growth. Sectors like vertical AI, robotics, and advanced manufacturing along with broader consumer segment offer long-term  potential but underwriting near term performance and exits remain a significant challenge. Patience and a bottom-up approach will be key to success, especially through secondaries, restructuring, and co-investments.

Southeast Asia's Family Businesses: Dominated by family-run enterprises with regional supply chain strengths, Southeast Asia offers private equity opportunities in family succession, improved management, and digital transformation. Amid the promises and disappointments, there’s much to learn from European private equity here.

Japan's Consistent Returns: Japan’s private equity market, with its parallels to North America, allows for operational improvements and reasonable valuations. It offers consistent outcomes with lower leverage, robust M&A activity, and proven capital returns, making it a compelling investment on a risk-adjusted basis.

India is all the rage but investors should not lose sight of lessons learned in China about high valuations and momentum driven Pre-IPOs.

Read the full article here.