(Reuters) - Investment bank China Renaissance said on Thursday it expected its investment management arm's assets under management to triple to $10 billion over the next three years, as it looks to attract more foreign investors and launch diversified products including hedge funds.
Set up in 2004, China Renaissance is a major player in the country's buoyant technology sector and has advised on top deals including the listing of e-commerce firm JD.com and the formation of ride-hailing company Didi Chuxing.
The investment bank is now looking to push beyond its core M&A advisory and securities underwriting business and sharpen focus on areas including the investment management business in the world's second-largest economy.
The Beijing-based firm, which currently has over $3 billion worth of assets under management, plans to increase its investment in high-growth sectors including technology, media, entertainment and healthcare, mostly in China.
"Our proprietary investing business was growing well over the past few years and it is natural for us to consider running our own investment (management) business," said Michael Du, a managing director at China Renaissance.
Du is also a managing partner at the biggest of firm's three investment units, Huaxing Growth Capital, which runs several funds in both yuan and dollar currencies.
Looking ahead, Huaxing plans to make larger investments than before, in a range of $20 million to $70 million, with a focus on growth-to-mature-stage firms, Du said, as the firm bets on local "new economy" companies.
In September people familiar with the plans said that China Renaissance was raising a new fund with a target of 6 billion yuan ($900 million).
Like China Renaissance, other China-focused investment firms such as Hillhouse Capital Group and Sequoia Capital China are also raising fresh capital, in an attempt to capture a bigger chunk of investment opportunities in China.
Besides Didi Chuxing, China Renaissance's portfolio firms include the country's largest on-demand internet services firm Meituan-Dianping and JD Finance, the financial unit spun off from JD.com.
The firm has raised 1.5 billion yuan for its healthcare-focused fund to invest in medical device and biotechnology firm. It's also looking to set up a mezzanine fund in the first half of next year, the company said in a statement.
($1 = 6.5835 Chinese yuan renminbi)
(Reporting by Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee, Greg Mahlich)
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