A huge market for private equity investment is waiting to be tapped in India and China, the two rapidly growing economies of the world, speakers at the ongoing annual general meeting of Asian Development Bank (ADB) said in Hyderabad on Saturday.
An institutional investors' roundtable as part of the 39th ADB meet observed there was a possibility of a 10-fold increase in private equity investments in both the countries in the next decade, provided there was no slowdown in global economy.
The speakers at the roundtable that deliberated on investment atmosphere in the two most-eagerly watched markets hoped the private equity investment, which was $7 billion last year, could go up to $70 billion over the next 10 years.
Addressing the roundtable on 'China and India: State of Affairs and Implications for Private Equity Investors', managing director and CEO of ICICI Venture Funds Management Renuka Ramnath spoke of the possibility of private equity investments in India increasing to $25 billion in the next five years from the present $2 billion. This figure could even go up to $35 billion if the process of privatisation was speeded up, she said.
Ramnath recounted the success story of ICICI Venture Funds, starting from the stage of skepticism to a new sense of confidence and boom in the markets.
"When we first went for private funding in 2001, seeking $120 million from international markets, there was skepticism all around. By June 2003, we closed at $245 million," she said, adding the private equity landscape in the country had changed drastically during the past few years.