Beijing's PE fund readies Asean investment

China’s US$10 billion private equity fund targeting Southeast Asian economies has raised US$1 billion in its first round of fund raising and is expected to make its first investment by the end of the year, state media reported. The Export-Import Bank of China (Exim Bank) and China Investment Bank jointly launched the fund in April 2009 with initial capital pledges of US$300 million each. "The fund’s preparatory work has been done and we have already started looking at a batch of projects, mainly in infrastructure, and joint economic projects between China and members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean)," said Zhu Hongjie, Exim Bank vice-president. China’s trade with Asean member states hit US$185 billion over the first eight months of the year, highlighting the mainland’s growing clout in regional economic growth.