Warburg Pincus opens Singapore office

Jeffrey Perlman, a Hong Kong-based managing director at the firm has relocated to Singapore and will serve as South-East Asia head.

Global private equity firm Warburg Pincus will launch a Singapore office in July to identify and evaluate growth opportunities in South-East Asia, the firm said in a statement.

The office will be the firm’s fifth in Asia, after Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai and Mumbai, and its ninth investment office globally.

Jeffrey Perlman, a managing director at the firm, will serve as head of South-East Asia and has already relocated from Hong Kong to Singapore. Hong Kong-based vice president Li Fan will also be moving to Singapore, the firm said. The office will initially have a small team but intends to have more local hires. The Singapore team will look at all sectors across the region, with a focus on growth investing.

The firm opened its first Asian office in Hong Kong in 1994 and has since invested over $10 billion across 140 Asian companies.

Some of its investments include China’s largest express delivery company ZTO, aesthetics hospital group Evercare, natural gas utility company D&J and Indian real estate developer Piramal Realty. It had recently invested an undisclosed amount in Shanghai gynaecology and paediatric hospital chain UIB, as reported by sister title Private Equity International.

Warburg had been actively investing in South-East Asia in recent years and said it intends to increase its investments in region. It had invested $200 million in Vietnamese shopping mall operator Vincom Retail in 2013 and two years later invested an additional $100 million in the company. Last year it bought a 35 percent stake in Indonesian hotel and mall operator PT. Nirvana Wastu Pratama for more than $33 million. In Singapore, the firm had invested in software solutions company Capillaries Technology and engineering services company QuEST.

It had earlier said South-East Asia will be an important region for the firm going forward as its population growth story and increasing domestic demand brings investment opportunities.

“We see a lot of opportunity in South-East Asia for the growth investor willing to make a long–term commitment to the region. South-East Asia has significant potential and we will leverage our differentiated investment approach to identify best-in-class entrepreneurs and provide capital to help their businesses grow,” Timothy F. Geithner, president of Warburg Pincus said.

“Singapore is at the heart of the ecosystem for business and investment activities in Southeast Asia. Our new office in Singapore will provide us a strong local presence and we will also seek to leverage the firm’s global expertise across each of our industry sectors to provide long-term value to our existing and future partners in the region,” Jeffrey Perlman added.

Since 1966, Warburg has raised 15 private equity funds, which have invested more than $55 billion in over 750 companies in more than 40 countries.

The firm is currently investing from its latest buyout vehicle, Warburg Pincus XII, which closed on $13.4 billion in 2015. Some limited partners in the fund include the New York State Common Retirement Fund, Washington State Investment Board, North Carolina State Treasury and several other US pensions, according to PEI Research & Analytics.

In March, Warburg said it is seeking commitments for a $2 billion China-focused fund to invest alongside its latest global fund.