TPG Inc, the buyout firm run by David Bonderman and Jim Coulter, is seeking to raise 5 billion yuan (US$740 million) with the government of Shanghai’s Pudong district for its first yuan-denominated private equity fund.
The fund will invest in China’s consumer, retail, financial and health-care sectors, and focus on medium to large-sized companies nationwide, Coulter, founding partner at TPG (formerly known as Texas Pacific Group) said in a speech in Shanghai.
TPG, which manages about US$57 billion in assets, follows Blackstone Group LP and Carlyle Group in setting up yuan-denominated funds in China as they increase their investment in an economy that surpassed Japan in the last quarter to become the world’s second biggest.
“Given Europe and the US are on a slow recovery course, international private equity firms are increasingly looking to China for investment opportunities,” said Hubert Tse, Shanghai-based partner at Boss & Young, a law firm which advises overseas private equity firms on setting up onshore yuan funds.
China continues to step up its efforts to build its own private-equity industry as the government seeks to enhance local corporate governance and strengthen capital markets.
The nation is on the cusp of a “big bang” of reforms that will give foreign investors greater access to China’s capital markets, Nomura Holdings Inc analysts led by Hong Kong-based Sean Darby wrote in a report released last Wednesday.
The country is also seeking to broaden use of the yuan after first approving its use to settle cross-border trade with Hong Kong in June last year.
The yuan has risen 0.4 percent against the US dollar since China ended a two-year peg to the greenback on June 19.
“We believe the time is right for further commitment to China,” Coulter said.
TPG invested in Shenzhen Development Co in 1994 and its other investments include Lenovo Group Ltd, China’s biggest PC maker and Daphne International Holdings Ltd, a shoe retailer.
Blackstone Group set up a 5 billion yuan fund with the Shanghai government in August last year to target investments in the eastern coastal city and neighboring areas.
Carlyle Group, the world’s second-biggest private-equity firm, received approval in March to form a US$100 million fund with Fosun Group, a Chinese privately-owned company with businesses interests that span steel, mining and property.
Foreign direct investment in China rose for a 12th straight month in July, highlighting confidence in economy growth. Investment rose 29.2 percent to US$6.92 billion last month, according to China’s Ministry of Commerce.
China’s leaders have pledged to expand the role of domestic demand in the economy in a bid to reduce reliance on exports after the global crisis hurt trade.
Health-care market growth is expected to accelerate by 20 percent to 25 percent this year, spurred by greater government spending and increased investment from multinational drugmakers, said Katherine Lu, director of China equities at Oppenheimer & Co in May.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday said its materials management head, Vanessa Lee (李文如), had tendered her resignation for personal reasons. The personnel adjustment takes effect tomorrow, TSMC said in a statement. The latest development came one month after Lee reportedly took leave from the middle of last month. Cliff Hou (侯永清), senior vice president and deputy cochief operating officer, is to concurrently take on the role of head of the materials management division, which has been under his supervision, TSMC said. Lee, who joined TSMC in 2022, was appointed senior director of materials management and
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Thursday met with US President Donald Trump at the White House, days before a planned trip to China by the head of the world’s most valuable chipmaker, people familiar with the matter said. Details of what the two men discussed were not immediately available, and the people familiar with the meeting declined to elaborate on the agenda. Spokespeople for the White House had no immediate comment. Nvidia declined to comment. Nvidia’s CEO has been vocal about the need for US companies to access the world’s largest semiconductor market and is a frequent visitor to China.
Hypermarket chain Carrefour Taiwan and upscale supermarket chain Mia C’bon on Saturday announced the suspension of their partnership with Jkopay Co (街口支付), one of Taiwan’s largest digital payment providers, amid a lawsuit involving its parent company. Carrefour and Mia C’bon said they would notify customers once Jkopay services are reinstated. The two retailers joined an array of other firms in suspending their partnerships with Jkopay. On Friday night, popular beverage chain TP Tea (茶湯會) also suspended its use of the platform, urging customers to opt for alternative payment methods. Another drinks brand, Guiji (龜記), on Friday said that it is up to individual
MAJOR CONTRIBUTOR: Revenue from AI servers made up more than 50 percent of Wistron’s total server revenue in the second quarter, the company said Wistron Corp (緯創) on Tuesday reported a 135.6 percent year-on-year surge in revenue for last month, driven by strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) servers, with the momentum expected to extend into the third quarter. Revenue last month reached NT$209.18 billion (US$7.2 billion), a record high for June, bringing second-quarter revenue to NT$551.29 billion, a 129.47 percent annual increase, the company said. Revenue in the first half of the year totaled NT$897.77 billion, up 87.36 percent from a year earlier and also a record high for the period, it said. The company remains cautiously optimistic about AI server shipments in the third quarter,
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