TPG hopes to raise $700m for renminbi fund

US private equity firm TPG announced plans to raise US$736.5 million for investment in a renminbi-denominated fund, the Wall Street Journal reported. The fund will be called TPG China Partners I, and will focus on the country’s consumer and service sectors. Individual investments by the new fund are expected to be US$50-100 million, smaller than the TPG’s usual US$100 million-plus investments. The firm said that the local government of Shanghai’s Pudong district would be its local partner, though it did not specify what the role would entail. The announcement follows several  liberalizing measures taken in China’s private equity market over the past year, as Beijing hopes to draw in foreign investment firms. The Carlyle Group and Blackstone Group (BX.NYSE) have made similar plans in recent weeks.