Shanghai a priority destination for private equity investment

13 Dec 2022

According to the latest findings from an industry report, private equity investment growth in China has remained on an upward trajectory in 2022, despite the pandemic-fuelled challenges.

At the forefront are investments in the biomedicine, information technology and internet sectors, with Shanghai one of the principal destinations for Qualified Foreign Limited Partnership (QFLP) investment. According to industry officials, this is due to its improved business system and mature ecosystem.

China accumulated over 31,549 private equity investment funds by the end of September this year, with an investment scale totalling 10.96 trillion Yuan ($1.57 trillion). This compares to 10.78 trillion Yuan by the end of last year and 9.87 trillion Yuan by the end of 2020, according to the report published by consultancy firm Tricor and law firm JunHe.

Last year, private equity investment in China made up 43% of the Asia-Pacific market, growing 23% year-on-year, Shine News reports.

An increase in investment in sectors including logistics, property and new energy is forecast in 2023, predominantly due to the post-pandemic rally and national policies such as carbon neutrality, said Tricor China's chief executive, Zhang Hailiang.

In addition, foreign private fund managers are a driving force in China's private equity market. The report goes on to say that Shanghai and Beijing, amongst other cities, are at the helm.

According to a partner at JunHe, Xie Qing, there are numerous other cities with favourable policies to attract foreign private equity funds, but they currently "all look up to Shanghai."