Permira appoints senior Chinese investment banker at Goldman Sachs, to run its new Hong Kong office becoming the latest global buyout firm to beef up its presence in the region.
Permira opened its Hong Kong office in June and will have four investment professionals based there once Henry Chen, a Hong Kong local, joins later this year. Chen has 10 years of experience investing in the region through his time at Goldman Sachs. His most recent role at the bank was as co-head of its Asian general industrials group in which he covered industrials, transportation, consumer retail and healthcare. He previously served as chief operating officer of corporate finance.
Permira’s recent investments in Asia include the buyout of Japanese chemicals company Arysta LifeSciences for €1.9 billion in February and a minority stake in listed Macao-based gaming business Galaxy Entertainment Group in November last year.
Asia has attracted private equity firms since the credit crunch has made deals in the US and Europe more difficult. This month US-listed buyout firm Blackstone Group said it will open a Beijing base, last month UK-based firm CVC Capital Partners opened a Beijing office and Apax and SVG Capital will open offices in Singapore later this year.