Quantium’s Co-Founder Jessie Juan sat down with The Drawdown for their special Asia issue, to discuss regional GPs’ investment operations, and local trends we’re seeing in the private markets.
Fundraising in ASEAN is being hailed as a prime opportunity by GPs; as per The Drawdown, Preqin recently surveyed a group in which 42% of private equity managers and 52% of venture capital managers believe Southeast Asia holds the best investment opportunities in 2022.
Singapore in particular is enjoying the benefits afforded by Greater China’s Covid-induced restrictions, which is an added boost for ASEAN. Jessie Juan agrees, referring to the current fundraising market. “Previously there were funds that couldn’t raise more than $200mn, which are today easily raising $500mn – $1bn,” says Juan. “This is really encouraging.”
Though GPs in Asia Pacific have generally adapted well to international operational standards, there is one key disadvantage. According to The Drawdown, “A clear commonality throughout the region is the lack of private equity software solutions catering to local requirements, especially in India, China and Japan.” However, change is already afoot. With the number and size of private equity investments in APAC rapidly increasing, the number of technology vendors is also growing; existing long-term market players are being forced to up their game and newcomers are setting new standards with more modern, user-friendly technology that is easy to adopt. As Juan says: ‘Technology providers have a responsibility to shape the future of the industry” – we will likely see many exciting developments in this area in the coming years.
“A clear commonality throughout the region is the lack of private equity software solutions catering to local requirements, especially in India, China and Japan.” – the Drawdown
Despite the lack of localized systems, there is plenty of groundwork being done to lay the foundations for the private capital ecosystem to improve. Singapore is a prime example of a country has always been supportive of private capital funds, and has launched a range of initiatives to create a welcoming environment for fund managers. According to Juan, “GPs who want to be more institutional can easily apply for grants from MAS, so they can adopt investment management technology from day one.”
This forward-thinking mentality puts Singapore ahead of the curve, especially compared to Western markets where newcomers often have to manage their investments with basic, non-institutional grade systems for their first few funds.
Read the full article on The Drawdown here.