We’ve noted how MBA grads are jumping from top U.S. business schools to fresh investment banking opportunities in Asia (see Trades & Tombstones blog).
Now it seems that China’s appetite for private investment is prompting a bunch of high-profile and more senior investment bankers to seize opportunities in China’s nascent private equity and venture capital sectors.
People’s Daily Online reports bankers are attracted to the potentially giant returns in the country’s relatively young PE industry. There were 29 PE deals between January and February this year. China currently makes up 5 percent of the global PE market.
Recently, Fred Hu, the high-profile chairman of Goldman Sachs’ operations in China, ended his 13-year stint at the bank to establish a private equity firm. His departure follow several other recent defections. These include Fang Fenglei, who also left Goldman Sachs to establish a private equity fund, and Jonathan Zhu, who left Morgan Stanley to join Bain Capital.
Having such senior talent enter the PE industry is a sign of confidence in China’s future growth. Making PE investments pay off requires long-term, strategic thinking and patience. Investors seem more willing than ever to take that long-term view of opportunities in China.
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