China's Cathay Capital eyes opportunities in digitalisation, life sciences

China's Cathay Capital eyes opportunities in digitalisation, life sciences

Cathay Capital managing partner Lanchun Duan

Chinese cross-border investment platform Cathay Capital Group, which has $3.8 billion in assets under management, is not unduly worried about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its investing momentum.

Cathay Capital – which backs growing, middle-market companies in Europe, North America and China – is looking at multiple strategies such as deepening its activity in Southeast Asia and expanding its scope of coverage in healthcare and consumption-driven themes.

In an interaction with DealStreetAsia, Cathay Capital managing partner Lanchun Duan said: “The market is reshuffling, which will diminish competition and consolidate rationalism on valuation. Therefore, we think now is a good time to take the lead.”

Founded in 2006, Cathay Capital has offices in Shanghai, Beijing, Paris, New York, San Francisco, Munich, Tel Aviv and Singapore.

The firm invests out of its fourteen funds, including seven PE vehicles and seven VC funds. Its VC funds include the latest Innovation Fund II ($500 million), Cartech Fund ($141 million), Smart New Energy Fund ($141 million), among others.

Cathay Capital has already had a rather busy first quarter. The investment firm has poured capital into as many as nine companies including Chinese industrial internet solution provider Allsense, French AI-powered platform Inato, Chinese autonomous driving solutions provider Waytous, third-party imaging centre Shanghai Universal Medical Imaging Diagnostic Center, and AI-based education organisation Dingdong Class, among others.

Apart from new investments, Cathay’s portfolio companies have also been involved in a total of six refinancing deals, mergers & acquisitions, as well as three exits.

Cathay Capital managing partner Lanchun Duan throws more light on the firm’s consumption-driven investment thesis, its cross-border investment advantage to spot early trends and its plans for the Southeast Asia market.

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