WORKERS CAPITAL
By Cathy ChanD
ecember 10, 2024
(Bloomberg) -- Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s Asia private equity head has left for the Abu Dhabi Pension Fund, joining a wave of Hong Kong dealmakers exiting the financial hub amid a deals slump, people familiar with the matter said.
Frank Su will become the global head of private equity at the Abu Dhabi fund next month, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information isn’t public. The new appointment broadens his remit, from overseeing Asia to managing global capital deployment.
Su’s departure last month after 11 years at the Canadian fund marks one of the most senior moves from a global investment firm in Hong Kong to the Middle East in recent years. His exit follows CPPIB’s decision to promote Caitlin Gubbels to lead the global private equity group, succeeding Suyi Kim, who left after 17 years.
Representatives for the Abu Dhabi fund didn’t respond to requests for comment. A Hong Kong-based spokesperson for CPPIB confirmed Su is taking on a new role outside the fund.
“We have a strong team in Asia who will continue to build on the important portfolio we have in the region,” the spokesperson said by email.
At least a dozen Hong Kong-based bankers and investment professionals have left for the Middle East in the past 18 months as business dries up in China, once the busiest market in the region. The worsening economic outlook, high cost of debt and volatile public markets have prompted funds to retrench, extending the dealmaking slump that began in 2022, according to Bain & Co.’s 2024 Asia-Pacific private equity survey.
The senior departures include Geoffrey Lai, former managing director of private equity at BOC International Holdings Co. He left Hong Kong last year to join Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund to help it establish a new subsidiary, and is now the new company’s CEO. The new firm ramped up hiring in September, having recruited about half a dozen senior staffers from Hong Kong since then, a person familiar with the matter said.
CPPIB meanwhile has been pulling back in China. Its exposure to investments in yuan has fallen by half in just two years, dropping to 5% of assets as of March 31, down from 10% in 2022.
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.
(Bloomberg) -- Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s Asia private equity head has left for the Abu Dhabi Pension Fund, joining a wave of Hong Kong dealmakers exiting the financial hub amid a deals slump, people familiar with the matter said.
Frank Su will become the global head of private equity at the Abu Dhabi fund next month, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information isn’t public. The new appointment broadens his remit, from overseeing Asia to managing global capital deployment.
Su’s departure last month after 11 years at the Canadian fund marks one of the most senior moves from a global investment firm in Hong Kong to the Middle East in recent years. His exit follows CPPIB’s decision to promote Caitlin Gubbels to lead the global private equity group, succeeding Suyi Kim, who left after 17 years.
Representatives for the Abu Dhabi fund didn’t respond to requests for comment. A Hong Kong-based spokesperson for CPPIB confirmed Su is taking on a new role outside the fund.
“We have a strong team in Asia who will continue to build on the important portfolio we have in the region,” the spokesperson said by email.
At least a dozen Hong Kong-based bankers and investment professionals have left for the Middle East in the past 18 months as business dries up in China, once the busiest market in the region. The worsening economic outlook, high cost of debt and volatile public markets have prompted funds to retrench, extending the dealmaking slump that began in 2022, according to Bain & Co.’s 2024 Asia-Pacific private equity survey.
The senior departures include Geoffrey Lai, former managing director of private equity at BOC International Holdings Co. He left Hong Kong last year to join Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund to help it establish a new subsidiary, and is now the new company’s CEO. The new firm ramped up hiring in September, having recruited about half a dozen senior staffers from Hong Kong since then, a person familiar with the matter said.
CPPIB meanwhile has been pulling back in China. Its exposure to investments in yuan has fallen by half in just two years, dropping to 5% of assets as of March 31, down from 10% in 2022.
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.
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