Data shows Asian PEs not sitting on record dry powder: Juan Delgado-Moreira

Contrary to perception, and amidst reports that private equity firms in Asia are sitting on cash piles that are at the highest levels since the global financial crisis, and despite the entry of Chinese players, sovereign wealth funds from West Asia as well as Canadian pension funds, data indicates that PE players in this continent, are not sitting on too much capital, says Juan Delgado-Moreira, head of international at Hamilton Lane, an independent alternative investment management firm, in an interaction. “In Asia specifically, there has been a surprising slowdown in fund-raising among Asia-focused private equity funds in 2016. So in Asia, the build-up of that overhang is lower than the global commentary,” he said. While calendar year 2016 saw record high PE exits in Asia, this was not the case in India, he pointed. Edited excerpts: