HarbourVest plans fifth Asian office to tap growing South-East Asia market

The $74bn alternatives manager is seeking approval for another office in the region, its 11th worldwide.

HarbourVest Partners is opening its fifth office in Asia and its 11th worldwide, Private Equity International has learned.

The Boston-headquartered alternatives manager is seeking regulatory approval to open an office in Singapore and plans to tap a growing potential client base and increased investment opportunities in South-East Asia.

“We can confirm that we are working to establish an office in Singapore and further cement our presence in APAC,” a spokesperson for the firm told PEI, adding they could not comment further.

HarbourVest is keen to establish relationships with up-and-coming general partners in the growth and venture capital markets of South-East Asia and to grow in line with Indian and Chinese partner GPs that are expanding their footprints in the region, according to a source familiar with the plans.

Investment professionals from the primary, secondaries and co-investment teams will be based in the Singapore office, PEI understands. Executives will move from Hong Kong in addition to new hires.

HarbourVest has hired Lydia Hao as a managing director in its Hong Kong primary investment team, PEI understands. The former Neuberger Berman principal starts in early June.

The HarbourVest spokesperson declined to comment on matters related to individuals.

The firm opened a Hong Kong office in 1996, following up with offices in Tokyo in 2010, Beijing in 2012 and Seoul in 2015.

The firm won the award for Fund of funds manager of the Year in Asia in the latest PEI Awards, having committed $288 million across nine primary funds, closed $439 million of direct co-investments and collected around $2 billion from Asian investors during 2020.

It has also been involved in several noteworthy secondaries transactions in the region, including a $600 million-plus yuan-to-dollar restructuring involving Chinese manager IDG Capital, affiliate title Secondaries Investor reported.