Media365
Private equity and other investment firms remain broadly optimistic about deploying capital in acquisitions and initial public offerings (IPOs) globally, supported by ample dry powder and diversification efforts while keeping a close eye on geopolitics, according to senior investment bankers.
As geopolitical uncertainty had become a constant factor in the global market in recent years, “we are broadly optimistic about the opportunities”, Ashu Khullar, head of global asset managers at Citigroup, said in Hong Kong on Monday.
The London-based banker’s comments came as global markets were under renewed pressure, with crude oil surging above US$100 a barrel for the first time since the height of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022, amid concerns that the US-Israeli war against Iran could be prolonged.
“Geopolitics is something which keeps on raising its head and it is hard to predict how long it will last,” he said. “If anything, all these recent events have shown [that] people need to become more self-sufficient, and that is leading to a fair bit of activity.”
Khullar and Vikram Chavali, Citigroup’s head of Asia-Pacific financial sponsors, said it was too early to comment on current events but their clients’ rebounding sentiment showed signs of resilience.
These financial sponsors, including private equity and infrastructure funds, sovereign wealth and pension funds, family offices and hedge fund clients, sat on massive stores of dry powder and needed to deploy capital to deliver returns to their investors, they said.
