NewQuest surpasses target for Fund III

NewQuest Capital Partners, a Hong Kong-based direct secondaries firm, has raised more than the target for its latest secondaries fund after launching in the second half of last year.

The firm held a first close last week just above its target of $500 million for NewQuest Asia Fund III from a combination of strong re-ups and new investors, Secondaries Investor has learned. The exact amount was undisclosed

The fund’s hard-cap is $520 million and there is only space for another two investors to participate, according to a source familiar with the fundraising. It is expected the fund will hold a second close in the second quarter of this year and will focus on the Chinese and Indian markets.

The Asian Venture Capital Journal first wrote about the close.

NewQuest has hired Daizong Wang as a partner as it prepares to open a mainland China office later this year.

The firm has benefited from a lack of competition as it is a relatively niche player, the source said. “Volatility in global markets have helped because these guys are a little bit different from other private equity firms. Some investors see them as a nice diversification to their more traditional portfolio,” the source said.

NewQuest, which was founded in 2011, acquired a portfolio of more than 20 investments when it spun out of Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s Asian Private Equity team.