Morgan raises $1.5 bn for Asia PE fund

PRIVATE EQUITY WATCH

Morgan Stanley, the second-largest securities company, said it raised about $1.5 billion for a dedicated Asia private equity fund.

The Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia III, LP, to be managed by Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia, has started reviewing investment opportunities across the region, the New York-based bank said in a statement on Monday. The fund will have a five-year investment period followed by a five-year harvest period.

It is Morgan Stanley's third and the largest fund targeting private equity investments in Asia, Scott Hahn, Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia's chief investment officer said in the statement.

"We will continue our value-oriented investment strategy, focused not only on opportunities in China, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan, where we have established track records, but also on other important markets such as Japan, India and Australia," Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia chief executive officer Chin Chou said in the news release.

The fund received investments from institutions, high net- worth individuals, Morgan Stanley, and its employees.

Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia, part of Morgan Stanley's merchant banking division, has invested in Asia for more than 14 years, including taking stakes in Ping An Insurance Group Co of China, China Mengniu Dairy Co, Ssangyong Corp in South Korea, eAccess in Japan and HTL International Holdings in Singapore.