Swiss bank Pictet Group, a limited partner in private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) firms in Asia, sees significant potential in Southeast Asia and India, even as there is a slowdown in dealmaking in the region.

“I will put India in the same bracket as Southeast Asia – these are markets where there is tremendous value creation, great demographic trends and economic reforms,” Francois Pictet, managing partner at Pictet Group, said in DealStreetAsia’s Asia PE-VC Summit 2022.

He was speaking at the session: The LP View – Investing in Asia: Opportunities in the largest markets and beyond.

Pictet Group has a fund-of-funds strategy with co-investments, and select direct investments.

In Pictet’s view, amid a tough market environment, and as allocations to private assets have risen, some LPs may be reviewing their allocations to private equity.

Still, there are established firms that continue to fundraise robustly, although Pictet Group as an LP has challenged GPs it thinks are fundraising too aggressively. Looking ahead, Pictet expects fundraising cycles to lengthen, when compared to the heady past few years. “If exits are difficult to come by, funds naturally will take more time to come back to the market.”

Edited excerpts from the session with Pictet: