Hong Kong and Singapore-based Aktis Capital is close to holding a final close on its maiden private equity fund on $100 million, an industry source told Private Equity International.
According to the source, the Aktis China West Fund, which has attracted LPs from Asia and the US, is targeting opportunities in the sectors of affordable housing, tourism and financing credit in Western China, with a particular focus in Chongqing.
Aktis declined to comment.
Last week, the firm secured approval for the Chongqing version of the so-called Qualified Foreign LP (QFLP) programme with six other firms, another source told Private Equity International at the time. According to the source, each of the seven firms will be given a quota of $100 million to $500 million for currency conversion.
While the bulk of private equity capital entering China has been in the country’s coastal regions, further inland, Western China has also begun attracting attention as the concentration of capital in the east has made competition for good deals increasingly fierce and caused sky-rocketing valuations in some cases.
Established in 2003 as a financial advisor, Aktis has been making direct investment in Chongqing since 2006.