Baring PE names new legal head of South Asia

-

Hong Kong-headquartered firm Baring Private Equity Asia (BPEA) has appointed Kirti Ram Hariharan as deputy general counsel (GC), according to a source with knowledge of the matter.  

With the exception of China, Hariharan will be responsible for the firm’s South Asia presence, where he will report to head William Hay. Greater China will be the focus of the firm’s other deputy GC Grace Gong. 

051

Kirti Ram Hariharan

 

BPEA declined to comment on the appointment. Paul Hastings confirmed the departure but declined further comment.

Hariharan was previously an associate in Paul Hastings Hong Kong practice where he specialised in India-based transactions, according to the firm’s website. Prior to that he was a partner at Amarchand Mangaldas, an India-based law firm he left in 2008.

The hire comes shortly after BPEA closed its latest pan-Asia growth fund, Baring Asia Private Equity Fund V, with $2.46 billion in fresh capital. The firm hit its hard-cap in just five months after its launch in late July last year, turning away $1 billion in over-subscriptions.

Over the course of 2010 India re-emerged as a hub of private equity activity in Asia. Firms exited a record 121 companies in India last year, while investments almost doubled to $7.97 billion from the 2009 figure, according to data from research house Venture Intelligence.