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PEI Asia Roundtable: Doug Coulter highlights key areas for private equity investing in Asia-Pacific
In a recent Private Equity International (PEI) roundtable, experts discussed the current challenges and opportunities within the Asia-Pacific (APAC) private equity market.
Despite a general slowdown in traditional markets like China, Doug Coulter, Partner at LGT Capital Partners, highlighted bright spots in India and Japan, driven by structural reforms and strong demographics.
More specifically, he noted that it is the development of the Indian IPO market that has proved truly transformative. “We are even seeing Indian companies redomiciling from the US because they expect to attract higher valuations in their domestic market,” says Coulter. “We came into India fairly early on, in 2012, and our returns have been in line with our China returns. Meanwhile, if you look at public market indices, India has vastly outperformed China since 2000, so there is a lot to like.”
He added that “If you invest across Asia, then you are probably going to be heavily exposed to growth and venture. Japan, by contrast, is a real buyout market, which is one of the reasons we like it. I would also agree that it is a market that is relatively easy to get your hands around. There are only a small number of successful domestic investors, which can make life easier for US or European LPs.”
The roundtable discussion reflected a nuanced approach to navigating the evolving investment landscape in the Asia-Pacific region.
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