Union Bancaire Privée’s Shanghai-based wholly foreign-owned enterprise (WFOE) has partnered with French private equity firm Idinvest to bring an offshore private equity fund to mainland investors, according to a statement from the Swiss bank.
The partnership will run via the qualified domestic limited partnership (QDLP) licence granted to UBP in May this year. The private equity strategy, which is dedicated to finance the expansion of well-established and fast-growing innovative European companies, will be managed by Idinvest.
The QDLP programme allows foreign managers to raise money in China, with assigned quotas, to invest in offshore traditional and alternative investments, including overseas equity and bond funds, hedge funds and property.
The announcement follows after UBP’s WFOE received approval from the Asset Management Association of China in August to launch a QDLP product named “UBP Yidi Overseas Private Investment Fund” (Chinese name: 瑞锐翼迪海外私募投资基金).
FSA sought more information from UBP, but it was not able to provide more details in time for publication.
Idinvest, which manages €8bn ($9.47bn) in European private equity assets, is a subsidiary of Paris-listed Eurazeo, according to the firm’s website. Eurazeo manages €18.8bn in private equity, venture capital, real estate, private debt and fund of funds assets, according to the statement.
“This partnership with UBP represents an exciting new era for our activities in China, which is a key growth market,” Christophe Bavière, senior managing partner and head of investment partners at Eurazeo, said in the statement.
“This will allow local investors wishing to diversify their portfolios to do so with the joint expertise of Eurazeo and UBP’s teams. Few companies have achieved this deal, and we are pleased to be joining forces and embarking on this new strategy with UBP,” Bavière added.
In Asia, Eurazeo has offices in Shanghai and Seoul, according to the firm’s website.
UBP set up a joint venture in China in 2015 and registered as a private investment fund manager with the AMAC in 2015, with a registered capital of $4.9m, according to the statement.
