By Peter Shadbolt
Financial Times
Cambodia, once regarded as a spill-over investment from Vietnam, is showing signs of standing on its own feet as frontier funds start to produce strong returns.
Frontier investors such as Leopard Capital – a private equity fund which launched a potential $100m Cambodia-focused fund in 2008 only to close with $34m – is now finding renewed interest in the country, holding the door open as other regional funds begin to sense an opportunity.
Vietnam’s largest asset manager, Vinacapital Investment Management, in January announced it would be expanding into Cambodia with a pledge to invest $100m, launching a dedicated fund targeting real estate, infrastructure, hospitality and agriculture investments.
“On the face of it, it is looking like a great opportunity,” says Kathleen Ng, managing director of the Centre for Asia Private Equity Research.
“There’s huge interest in directing funds to south and south east Asia – Sri Lanka, Laos and Cambodia – and we are seeing funds, from Vietnam in particular, beginning to regionalise.
“There’s an emerging sense of opportunity with some funds having a lot of luck in raising funds. Leopard Capital, in particular, was oversubscribed last year,” she says.
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