Today (December 4), Warburg Pincus announced that it will leverage its extensive experience and track record in China, India and Southeast Asia to further expand its business in Asia.
At the same time, a new round of personnel adjustments was released for Warburg Pincus.
Vishal Mahadevia has been promoted to President of Warburg Pincus Private Equity Asia, and Min Fang and Lang Zhou have been promoted to Co-Presidents of Warburg Pincus Private Equity China.
After 20 years at Warburg Pincus, Zhen Wei will step down as President of Warburg Pincus China. However, he will continue to serve as Managing Director of Warburg Pincus until the end of 2024 to ensure a smooth transition.
Warburg Pincus, one of the world's oldest private equity firms, entered China in 1994 with the opening of an office in Hong Kong, China. Over the past 30 years, the veteran U.S. dollar** has witnessed the journey of Chinese venture capital from scratch, and has invested a total of $16.4 billion in nearly 170 companies in various industries in China.
Now is the right time to harmonize Asia's governance architecture. Warburg Pincus believes that with the expansion of its business footprint and deepening its industry coverage, this move will promote greater collaboration, continuity and risk management, while helping to further expand the scale of the business and attract more investors in the region.
Warburg Pincus announces new appointments:
Fang Min and Zhou Lang will be at the helm of the China team
This time, Warburg Pincus has appointed a new generation of leadership teams in Asia.
First, Vishal Mahadevia will be promoted to President of Warburg Pincus Asia Private Equity while remaining as Co-President of Global Financial Services at Warburg Pincus. Vishal Mahadevia joined Warburg Pincus in 2006 as President of Warburg Pincus India and has been with Warburg Pincus for 17 years.
In China, Min Fang and Lang Zhou will serve as co-presidents of Warburg Pincus China Private Equity, having joined Warburg Pincus in 2007 and 2005, respectively. Previously, Min Fang was Managing Director and Head of Healthcare, Consumer and Internet Investments at Warburg Pincus ChinaZhou Lang is the Managing Director and Head of Financial & Corporate Services, Industrial Technology Investments, Warburg Pincus China.
In India, Narendra Ostawal will serve as President, Private Equity at Warburg Pincus India, having joined the firm in 2007. As Warburg Pincus further focuses on cross-border business services and industrials, Viraj Sawhney and Anish Saraf, who joined the firm in 2005 and 2006 respectively, will also take on more important roles. Warburg Pincus is one of the pioneers in the field of private equity investment in India and has now invested in 80 companies in India since its first investment in 1996.
In Singapore, Saurabh Agarwal will serve as President of Southeast Asia Private Equity at Warburg Pincus, which he joined in 2009. Warburg Pincus made its first foray into Southeast Asia in 2013 and has grown to become a leading investor in Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore.
In addition to the Japanese market, Warburg Pincus recently announced that Takashi Murata will join the company in early 2024 as President of Warburg Pincus Japan to further expand its business in Asia. At the same time, he will serve as Co-President of Warburg Pincus Asia Real Estate Investments, together with Warburg Pincus Senior Partner Howard Ng, to further accelerate the development of the business in the real estate and private equity sectors in Japan.
Wei Zhen, after 20 years at Warburg Pincus, will step down as president of Warburg Pincus China. As one of Warburg Pincus's early leaders in the Chinese market, Wei Zhen has experienced the ups and downs of US dollar PE in China and even Asia.
In 2016, Li Hui, the second-generation head of Warburg Pincus in China, left to found Centurium Capital, and Cheng Zhanglun and Wei Zhen took over as the third-generation heads of Warburg Pincus China. In September 2022, Cheng announced his retirement to set up a family office to focus on his private investments and family affairs, as well as philanthropy. Wei Zhen became Warburg Pincus's only speaker.
After his tenure at Warburg Pincus expires in 2024, Wei Zhen is about to start the next leg of his life.
He has been in China for nearly 30 years
A total of $16.4 billion has been invested
Headquartered in New York, Warburg Pincus has raised 21 private equity** and 2 real estate** since its founding in 1966. In October this year, Warburg Pincus' global flagship Warburg Pincus Global Growth No. 14 successfully raised $17.3 billion, setting a record in Warburg Pincus' nearly 60-year history.
To date, Warburg Pincus has invested more than US$113 billion in more than 1,000 companies in more than 40 countries around the world. Today, Warburg Pincus has 14 offices in 11 countries around the world. Among them, the Chinese market has grown into an indispensable part of Warburg Pincus' investment landscape.
In 1994, Warburg Pincus' Global CEO, Chip Kaye, personally developed and established Warburg Pincus' Asian business in Hong KongJeffrey Perlman, President of Warburg Pincus, has also worked in Asia and China for more than 10 years.
The past 20 years have been hailed as "the first 20 years of China's venture capital industry". Warburg Pincus has invested US$16.4 billion in nearly 170 companies in various industries in China, making it one of the largest and most active international private equity investment institutions in China.
Looking at Warburg Pincus' investment map in China, there are many star projects such as 58.com, Ziru, Liepin, Ant Group, Sensors Data, and Yuanqi Forest. At the end of March this year, JD Industrial Development, a subsidiary of JD Group, officially submitted A1 application documents to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange to launch the IPO of Hong Kong stocks. Behind JD.com's production and development, there are two consecutive rounds of two rounds of investment by Warburg Pincus.
Over the past 20 years, Warburg Pincus has invested nearly RMB 16.8 billion in more than 20 healthcare companies in China. For example, in the field of medical services, Hygeia, Jinxin Reproduction, USA-China Yihe, United Family and so on have been laid outIn terms of biomedicine, it has invested in Insilico Medicine, Zhenzhiming, WuXi AppTec, Taibang Biologics, Abbisko Pharmaceuticals, etcIn terms of medical devices, it has invested in Lepu Medical and Angelalign, and has a controlling stake in Huazhen Dachang.
In recent years, Warburg Pincus has been active in the Chinese market. Official data shows that in the first three quarters of 2023 alone, Warburg Pincus has invested more than $600 million in China, and remains one of the most active US dollars** in the country. The $17.3 billion raised just raised also means that Warburg Pincus will provide new financial support for its investment in China.
Adjust your posture and localize
Warburg Pincus China has always been regarded as one of the most localized foreign investment in China.
Different from other international VC PE practices, from the moment they stepped into China, Warburg Pincus started localization, "At that time, our investment team was 5 people, and these 5 people were all Chinese, which was a very valuable thing at that time, but Warburg Pincus did it. In an interview two years ago, Wei Zhen said this to the investment community.
But now is not what it used to be, today's China's venture capital industry has undergone profound changes, when the pendulum of the times came to the RMB** end, the US dollar ** and other foreign institutions ushered in the throes of transformation.
In March 2021, Warburg Pincus' wholly-owned subsidiary, Shanghai Warburg Pincus, completed the registration of AMAC manager and further localization.
In September this year, Warburg Pincus' first RMB** landed in Yixing, Jiangsu, with a total scale of 3 billion yuan. In the future, it will focus on the upstream of life sciences, out-of-hospital markets, medical services and distribution services, and will help platform companies complete industry integration through acquisitions and spin-offs, promote the implementation of global medical innovation technologies in China, and inject vitality and impetus into the innovation and high-quality development of China's medical and health industry.
Such a scene is a milestone in the current primary market. At present, nearly 90% of the target scale has been signed, and LPs in industries such as WuXi AppTec and Jinxin Fertility have vigorously increased their weight.
As Warburg Pincus highlighted in its official statement, China is Warburg Pincus' longest-serving market in Asia.
Standing from a different perspective, there are different interpretations. It's just that at present, the global venture capital industry is undergoing transformation and reshuffle, and China's VC PE is also facing twists and turns. Under the test of survival, everyone began to adjust their posture.