The UK-based Candover Investments plc said its Asian and European operations "are investigating the possibility of raising capital so that they can become effectively self-financing". This follows the net asset value for the fund management firm’s shares having declined by 50% to 1,026 pence (US$14.5) each during 2008. (Europe and Asia)

The UK-based SVG Capital plc, the largest investor in Permira, released its preliminary unaudited results for the 12 months ending 31st December 2008. The net asset value has plunged 66.6% during those 12 months, to £434.3 million (US$797.0 million). (Offshore)

International Finance Corporation ('IFC') has earmarked a total US$45 million commitment to Jain Irrigation Systems Ltd. The latter is India's largest provider of micro-irrigation systems to which IFC has already been providing loans. (India)

China Ping An Trust & Investment Co. Ltd., the investment arm of the Hong Kong-listed Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd, is planning to set up a 2 billion yuan (US$292.3 million) fund. (People's Republic of China)

Shanghai Financial Industrial Fund Management Co. has raised 8 billion yuan (US$1.2 billion) for the first closing of its maiden fund, Shanghai Financial Industrial Fund, which has a target size of 20 billion yuan. (People's Republic of China)

The People's Government of Zhejiang Province has announced the establishment of the Zhejiang Venture Investment Guidance Fund with a capital commitment of 500 million yuan (US$73.1 million). (People's Republic of China)

CHAMP Private Equity will take a 75% stake in Centric Wealth Advisers Ltd ('Centric Wealth') for A$80 million (US$50.7 million).
       Centric Wealth is Australia's leading high-end wealth advisory group with approximately A$5 billion in assets under advice. (Australia)

Ofidium Pty Ltd. has secured A$6 million (US$3.83 million) from Starfish Ventures in its Series A fundraising exercise. Ofidium is a pioneer in optical Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing technology, which is used to increase bandwidth and reduce costs for existing telecommunications infrastructure. (Australia)

India Agri Business Fund, advised by Rabo Equity Advisors Pvt Ltd., has made its maiden investment of 450 million rupees (US$8.6 million) to Sri Biotech Laboratories India Ltd., a manufacturer and marketer of "safe" and "green" bio-organic agri inputs. (India)

Nippon Mirai Capital Co., Ltd. is seeking to acquire at least a 73.7% stake in Nanbu Plastics Co. through a tender offer process. The tender offer is scheduled to close in early April and will represent a minimum deployment of ¥4.9 billion (US$49.5 million) from the financial investor. (Japan)

Ant Corporate Advisory Inc, an affiliate of Ant Capital Partners Co., Ltd., has completed its tender offer for We've Inc with an aggregate deployment of ¥399.6 million (US$4.1 million). We've Inc. is a media company mainly engaged in producing animations for television and film, as well as managing character licenses. (Japan)

Qiming Venture Partners has teamed up with Tigermed Consulting Co., Ltd to make an undisclosed commitment to MacroStat China Clinical Research Co., Ltd. The latter is headquartered in the USA and has operations in China. (People's Republic of China)

Kaixin001.com ('Kaixin'), a SNS platform, is reportedly in talks with a number of investors, including Northern Light Venture Capital, in order to raise US$20 million. Kaixin declined to comment. (People's Republic of China)

Telsima Corporation, an India-based developer and provider of wireless network technology, was acquired by NASDAQ-listed Harris Stratex Networks, Inc. for US$12 million. Telsima was backed by a host of investors including NewPath Ventures, LLC, CMEA Capital, New Enterprise Associates, Intel Capital, JAFCO Investment (Asia Pacific) Ltd. They had invested an aggregate US$70 million in Telsima. (India)

Investors’ sale of SANYO Electric Co. Ltd. is not expected to complete until the second quarter of the year following recent statement from Panasonic Corp., the buyer. Panasonic advised that there shall be an update on the acquisition process in April.
       In January 2006, Goldman Sachs joined Daiwa Securities SMBC Principal Investments and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. to commit ¥300 billion (US$3 billion) to SANYO. (Japan)

Deutsche Bank Private Wealth Management has appointed Mr Peter Pfister as Director of Private Equity Investments for Asia Pacific. He will be based in Singapore. (Singapore)

Mr Darren Wong has been appointed as Executive Director of Adveq Management AG. He will be based in Beijing. (People's Republic of China)

News Flash for the week ending 2nd March 2008: According to corporate communications from Morgan Stanley, Taizinai was invested by one of Morgan Stanley's principal investment groups, instead of Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia. (India)