(dpa) - The Asia-Pacific region received a larger number of private equity investments in the first quarter of this year, but the value of the deals has dropped, figures from Thomson Financial said on Monday.
Excluding Japan, 195 private equity investments were made in the region bringing in more than 1.67 billion dollars. The corresponding quarter a year ago saw 183 private equity deals with a value of 2.64 billion dollars.
Large deals tend to be leveraged buyouts, which creditors are cautious about in the credit market turmoil.
China led the pack in attracting 571 million dollars in private equity funding in the first quarter. India emerged a close second with 507 million dollars, Thomson Financial said.
Vietnam was a standout in terms of the rate of private equity investment growth.
Vietnamese firms received 36 million dollars in the first quarter, a jump from 1.9 million dollars from same period a year before.
The outlook for private equity deals in the region for 2008 varies according to the type involved, Gerald Chiu, investment director at Navis Capital Partners, told The Business Times.
"Large leveraged buyouts will depend on developments in the credit market, but the outlook for deals funded mostly by equity remains positive," he was quoted as saying.