TPG picks Vietnam for landmark move conference Outside of US

This is the first time an LP conference of Texas Pacific Group (TPG) is being held outside of the US. The event, which will take place during March 19-21 at Sofitel Metropole, marks the heightened interest of private equity money in Vietnam.

Vietnam has one of the youngest demographic profiles in Asia. As of 2012, 25 per cent of Vietnam’s 90 million citizens were under 15 years old with a median age at 28. The strong domestic consumption growth potential is making the country an attractive destination for private equity players.      

The majority of the LPs in attendance this year have not visited the country prior to this event. This will be an opportunity for them to explore the business opportunity and experience firsthand Vietnam’s dynamic country.

According to a source, the 30-50 funds attending the event have total assets of up to $1 trillion. Foreign capital is critical to the country’s long-term growth prospects and this event is a great opportunity to showcase Vietnam.        

TPG is no stranger to  Vietnam having invested $36.5 million in technology corporation FPT in 2006 and subsequently invested $35 million in Masan Group Corporation (MSN) in 2009. Both FPT and MSN are listed in the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange.

TPG has since exited its investment in FPT, but is still an investor in MSN. MSN has been one of the strongest performing companies in its global growth fund and according to sources a reason why the LP conference is being hosted in Vietnam.

Hosting the event in Vietnam is also a better representation of the growth fund operations as more than half of its portfolio is invested in emerging markets.      
 
TPG was founded in 1992 by two veteran investors David Bonderman, who will be a participant in the LP conference, and James Coulter. Today, TPG belongs to an elite group of largest private equity firms in the US with five member funds, led by the flagship fund TPG Capital – specialising in investing in well-established companies with investment size ranging from $10 million to $1 billion. As of today, TPG Capital has put $31.1 billion to work all around the world including the US, EU, Asia, Australia and Latin  America. The second fund is TPG Growth – specialising in investing in companies during their growth phase globally – this fund invested in FPT and Masan. The third fund is TPG Biotech – a venture capital fund with a focus on healthcare investments. The forth fund is TPG Opportunities Partners – mandated to focus on special situation investments. Finally, TPG Speciality Lending is a fund that specialises in loan investments.   

The conference is an opportunity for its LP to reassess their investment portfolio and performance of their investments during the year.

This year conference is hence an occasion for TPG LPs to discuss about sectors and deals for next year as well as the ongoing critical macro issues globally. Vietnam and other emerging markets will be the focus of the two-day conference. This conference is a validation of Vietnam’s market potential.