HSBC Eyes Indian Private Equity

HSBC Republic Investmentsis considering a fund focused on Indian opportunities as one of the first offerings from its new private equity business. This is likely to be in the form of a syndicate feeding into an externally-managed private equity fund, saidBoudewijn Jansen, deputy ceo in London. The firm has seen investor demand for an Indian private equity fund. This has included requests from Indian investors based in Dubai, who are seeking exposure to their home country, he added.

The firm is following the developing relationship between a New York-based private equity firm and an Indian group with a local network, said Jansen, declining to name the firms. A joint venture is planned between these firms to launch an Indian private equity fund, and HSBC would seek to provide access to its own clients via a feeder fund, he explained. "Once the fund's up and running, I'd definitely consider utilising them, because of their expertise from the U.S., and their contacts from India," he added. The fund is likely to launch early next year.

HSBC would aim to raise at least $40-45 million for a feeder fund, but would not want to be more than one-third of the total assets in the underlying fund, said Jansen. This means the underlying fund needs to raise a significant amount for the move to be viable for HSBC, he noted.