Paris-based private equity (PE) firm Ardian has opened a 4,000 sq ft office in Hong Kong’s main business district, with an eye on growing its US$3 billion investment out of the company’s total US$200 billion in assets under management (AUM).
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The new office at the Two International Finance Centre in Central marked the company’s fifth location in Asia and would initially have eight permanent staff, according to Jason Yao, the group’s head of Greater China.
“The reason we have an office here is to be close to our investors,” Yao said in an interview with the Post on Thursday. “We have very important insurance companies that have already committed to our various products. To be close to clients is one thing we want to develop in Hong Kong.”
“Private wealth is also a big topic in our industry as a source of capital. Investment-wise it is very important for the secondary business,” Yao added. “So we have a lot of sellers here and we have most of the intermediaries, the investment bank side, also here. It’s also very critical for us to further expand our secondary business in the region.”
Ardian, one of the largest European-headquartered PE firms, is considered one of the leading investors in the secondary private market, which involves the buying and selling of existing investments from other investors.
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It has about 50 long-standing clients in the Greater China region. Its investors include insurance firms, sovereign wealth funds, private wealth investors and endowments.