Asia-focused asset management firm Value Partners and Shenzhen Capital have launched a Greater Bay Area-focused special opportunity fund. Separately, CICC Capital has closed a new blind-pool equity investment fund to focus on the tech sector.
Shenzhen Capital, Value Partners set up GBA-focused fund
Asia-focused asset management firm Value Partners has joined hands with a subsidiary of the Chinese state-owned Shenzhen Capital Holdings to launch a special opportunity fund to focus on the Greater Bay Area (GBA) in southern China.
Shenzhen Capital (International) Asset Management, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Shenzhen Capital, and Value Partners will both serve as the general partners (GPs) of the fund, Value Partners announced in a statement on Sunday.
The two parties look to leverage “significant opportunities” in connecting and developing economic, financial, infrastructure, and cultural businesses across the GBA – or the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area that comprises the two special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau and nine municipalities in Guangdong Province.
The GBA was the home to over 86 million population with more than 13 trillion yuan ($1.8 trillion) of GDP in 2022, according to official data.
The special opportunity fund aims to capitalise on opportunities from high-quality and yet undervalued companies, both in the public and private markets in the GBA, said Value Partners. The fund looks to unlock the growth potential of GBA companies through various business and financial enhancement strategies, such as restructuring, privatisation, and capital structure optimisation.
“These Hong Kong-based companies are undervalued, often due to their limitation to the local Hong Kong market. Equipping these companies with the right experience, network, and know-how to expand their businesses into the broader GBA region will not only deliver attractive total returns for investors but also contribute significantly to the economic and social development of the GBA,” said the firm.
CICC Capital closes CICC Qichen Fund II at $579m
CICC Capital, the flagship private equity (PE) unit of Chinese investment bank China International Capital Corp Ltd (CICC), has closed a new blind-pool equity investment fund at 4.2 billion yuan ($579.2 million) to focus on the technology industry.
The new fund dubbed “CICC Qichen Phase II (Wuxi) Emerging Industry Equity Investment Fund Partnership” reached its final close with capital commitments from privately-run financial institutions, listed companies, tech firms, as well as China’s government guidance funds and state-owned companies, according to a statement.
Limited partners (LPs) of the fund include Industrial Bank, a commercial bank based in southeastern China’s Fuzhou City; Winshare Investment, an investment arm of Chinese bookstore chain operator Xinhua Winshare Publishing and Media; and electric power provider Chongqing Three Gorges Water Conservancy and Electric Power.
Its LPs also include a range of China’s local government-backed investment firms, such as Changshu Development and Investment Company, Jiangsu FISCAL Investment, and Chengdu Communications Investment Group.
“CICC Qichen’s 2023 investment strategies are focused on homegrown tech innovations led by high-growth, good-quality companies across key sectors such as new energy, semiconductors, advanced manufacturing, digitalisation, and medical intelligence,” said CICC Capital’s managing director Xu Yi, who leads the CICC Qichen funds.
The new commitments raised add to the 2018-vintage predecessor fund, CICC Qichen (Suzhou) Emerging Industry Equity Investment Fund Partnership, for which CICC Capital raised 3 billion yuan ($413.9 million). As of now, the tech-focused CICC Qichen fund series has over 20 portfolio companies already listed or in the process of a public listing.