HKVCA appoints new board

The Hong Kong Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (HKVCA) has appointed a new board of directors, including Eric Mason as chairman.

Mason is a managing director at The Church Pension Fund (CPF), which administers the US-based The Church Pension Fund Clergy Pension Plan, and is responsible for the fund’s investment programme in Asia.

In his chairman’s message in the HKVCA’s newsletter, Mason highlighted the association’s expanded research capability and commented on the establishment of two new family office and environmental, social and governance committees.

“Through these new committees the association will help raise the level of awareness as well as the degree of implementation of ESG issues, and will facilitate and encourage family offices to increase their commitment to the private equity and venture capital asset class,” he said.

Mason joined the CPF in 2009 to head its Hong Kong office, according to the Church Pension Group (CPG) website. The pension plan had $11.2 billion of assets at the end of March 2014 and was 16 percent allocated to private equity.

Before joining CPG, Mason spent 12 years in Asia working for JP Morgan and was also fund head for the Carlyle Asia Leveraged Finance Fund.

He replaces Conrad Tsang of Strategic Year Holdings who had been in post since 2013. 

During Tsang’s tenure, the Legislative Council of Hong Kong passed a bill extending tax exemption on profits for offshore funds to private equity vehicles. The change will encourage firms to upgrade their activities from advisory to manager, the HKVCA said in a statement.

Cinven HK’s Joseph Wan and Electra Asia Partners’ John Levack were appointed vice-chairmen on the HKVCA board.