Actis closes $130m fund for South East Asia
Emerging markets private equity investor Actis has closed its Actis ASEAN Fund on $130m. Investors in the fund include private sector institutional investors from North America, Europe and Asia.
Actis closed its Actis Malaysia Fund on $60m in 2004. Due to investor interest the firm then decided to increase the fund size and turn the Malaysia-focused fund into a fund investing across the ASEAN region.
Actis ASEAN Fund will have a special focus on investments in Malaysia, and it will also focus on investment opportunities in Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand.
More : altassets.com
Related Travel Information
Pan Asia fund fails to excite investors
The Pan Asia Bond Index Fund, the first exchange-traded bond fund in Asia, has generated scant interest from investors in the past year, despite its heavyweight backers, namely the Asian Development Bank and the regions central banks.
According to the funds manager, State Street Global Advisers, the size of PAIF has only grown from the initial $1bn — contributed to by the 11 members of the Executives Meeting of East Asia-Pacific Central Banks (EMEAP) — to around $1.2bn since it was launched in July last year.
We are a bit disappointed that the fund has not
Australia's AMP Eyes Asia Infrastructure Fund
Australian financial services company AMP Ltd. (AMP.AU) is considering creating a pan Asian infrastructure fund as billions of dollars of Australia's pension fund money chases the asset class.
Phil Garling, head of global infrastructure at the group's funds management arm AMP Capital Investors, says demand for exposure to assets like toll roads and airports is outstripping the supply of infrastructure trusts through which pension funds can invest.
"There might be A$10 billion (US$7.3 billion) looking for a home in infrastructure in this country at the moment. It wouldn't surprise me," Garling told Dow Jones Newswires
ASIA FUND VIEW: ING Real Estate To Launch China Funds
Looking to further tap into Chinas property market boom, ING Real Estate Investment Management is planning to launch two real estate funds in China in the next two years.
ING Real Estate, a unit of ING Group N.V. (ING), is currently raising $200 million to $250 million for its China Opportunity Fund, Senior Director Richard Van Den Berg told Dow Jones Newswires. He expects the fund to complete its initial fund raising in June, with the main investors comprising institutions from the U.S., Europe and Asia.
This would be ING Real
Asia Fund Poll: Managers More Positive On Stocks
International fund managers have become more positive toward equities globally in the past month, citing strong earnings and attractive valuations in many countries.
Managers in the latest monthly survey by Dow Jones Newswires raised their average weighting slightly for equities in a global portfolio, leaving it at a slight overweight. They have a neutral view on cash and are slightly underweight on bonds, which they say suffer from unattractive yields.
"Within the mainstream asset classes, equities do seem to be able to offer a good enough absolute return in 2006," says JF Asset
FUND VIEW-China and Hong Kong best Asia bets
Global stock investors should be overweight China and Hong Kong in their portfolios, because the Chinese economy is likely to keep growing at or near double-digit rates, a fund manager at New Star Asset Management said on Monday.
But investors should be underweight the technology-heavy markets of Taiwan and South Korea, because of the risk a slowing U.S. economy will slash the profits of low margin exporters, added Jorry Noeddekaer.
Our biggest overweight right now is definitely Hong Kong and China. We more or less add these two names together, he told Reuters in an
