Kasikornbank (KBank), Thailand’s second-biggest lender, recently completed the registration of its private equity (PE) fund management unit with the Asset Management Association of China (AMAC), which oversees the country’s fund industry.
The registration of Kasikorn Vision Shanghai makes KBank the first Thai lender authorised by the AMAC to raise PE and VC investments as well as PE and VC fund-of-funds (FoFs), according to the registry information on the AMAC website and a company release on September 25.
Kasikorn Vision Shanghai plans to launch funds targeting investments in high-growth potential companies in China that are aligned with the country’s macroeconomic policies and strategies, through the secondary private market or co-investments, said the company release.
AMAC stipulates that private fund managers register their fund management units with the regulatory body within 12 months from the date of industry and commerce registration, except in cases where the registration is suspended due to policy changes, according to a legal commentary published by Chinese law firm Han Kun Law Offices.
The PE unit, incorporated under China’s Qualified Foreign Limited Partnership (QFLP) initiative, which enables licensed international funds to invest in the country’s PE-VC market, has a total investment quota of 1.5 billion yuan ($212.8 million).
“Amidst global economic volatility and geopolitical tensions, China has adjusted its strategy towards greater self-reliance, focusing on maintaining economic stability through quality growth and sustainable development,” said KBank’s executive vice president Pattarapong Kanhasuwan.
The registration comes a year after Schroders Capital and KBank’s private banking business announced the launch of a secondaries-focused China private equity fund tapping capital from private wealth investors in Thailand in October 2023.
Several global PE behemoths—KKR, Brookfield, and Blackstone to name a few—have set up new onshore entities to expand into the China market this year in a possible turnaround from 2023 when dealmaking in Greater China plunged to a ten-year low, according to a report published by Bain & Company in April this year.
The report suggests that the region’s PE market remains challenging in 2024 due to the macroeconomic slowdown, tightening IPO market and continuous divergence in valuation expectations. Yet, the recent interest rate cuts in the US as well as China’s A-share market frenzy, triggered by the series of market stimulus introduced on September 25, are among some of the factors that could bring a change to the PE market, it added.
