Chart of the week: China-focused fundraising

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Funds investing into China across all sectors raised $10.71 billion in the first quarter of 2015 following the close of 14 funds. China-focused funds that held a final close in 2013 hit a low of just $10.37 billion gathered from 33 funds.  Capital collected following the final close of funds targeting the country decreased year on year between 2011 and 2013. However, capital gathered by funds in 2014 increased dramatically by 320 percent compared to the previous year. In Q1 2015, fundraising had reached almost 25 percent of the capital collected in 2014.

Of the 14 China-focused funds that closed in Q1 2015, the two largest were Baring Asia Private Equity Fund VI and Hillhouse Capital Fund I. Managed by Baring Private Equity Asia and Hillhouse Capital Management, the growth equity vehicles raised $3.99 billion and $2 billion respectively. Four of the fourteen China-focused funds that closed in Q1 2015 gathered $1 billion or more from investors. This reflects the growing size of these investment vehicles, as the 53 funds which closed in 2014 raised just nine percent less capital than the 150 funds closed in 2011.

There were 211 private equity funds in market that were China-focused at the end of Q1 2015, targeting $87.91 billion of capital. Wuling Mountain Area Tourism Industry Investment Fund I, managed by Bright Stone (Beijing) Investment Management was the largest of these vehicles, with a target size of $4.81 billion.