Bohai Fund buys US$200 million in Tianjin Pipe

Bohai Industrial Investment Fund Management Company completed its first deal, buying a stake in Tianjin Pipe, the Wall Street Journal reported. The fund, which is controlled by Bank of China, bought a US$200 million stake, or less than 20%, in China's biggest maker of steel pipes for oil pipelines. Bohai Fund is China's first private equity firm and is part of the government's plan to encourage a budding local private equity industry. Total private equity investment outside the financial sector this year in China was US$1.6 billion, excluding Bohai Fund's deal.