HILLHOUSE Capital, an investor in top Chinese technology firms including Tencent and Baidu, has closed its latest funding round at US$10.6 billion, it said, making it the region’s biggest private equity (PE) capital raising.

The new fund, Hillhouse Fund IV, will look for investment opportunities across the health care, consumer, technology and services sectors globally, with a focus on Asia, the company said in a statement yesterday.

Hillhouse’s US$10.6 billion fundraising exceeded the US$9.3 billion raised by private equity firm KKR & Co.’s Asia-focused buyout fund in June 2017, which was a record for the region at that time.

Hillhouse, a Chinese investment firm founded in 2005 by Zhang Lei with seed funding from Yale University’s endowment, is among several China-focused investment managers that have funds in both U.S. and Chinese currencies.

Hillhouse said the new fund, which would leverage its capabilities to drive long-term growth in portfolio companies, was heavily oversubscribed.

The Hillhouse fund adds to a massive industry-wide pool of money for Asian acquisitions and investments, with investors attracted by rapid economic growth and a growing number of technology companies compared to other major markets.

In June, Blackstone Group LP said it had raised about US$9.4 billion for two new funds — the largest-ever fund dedicated to real estate investments in Asia as well as its first private equity fund for the region.

A Hillhouse-led consortium last month expressed an interest to offer US$46 per share for Yum China Inc., which was later rejected by the biggest fast-food chain in China, media reports said, citing sources.

(SD-Agencies)