Siddharth Poddar

Lye-Thiam Koh, former head of NTUC Income Insurance's private equity programme, will help AIG expand its fund of funds activities in Asia.

The MENA-focused investment firm will fund the growth of Jordan's first privately-owned airline to tap into the rapidly growing aviation market in the Middle East. It has reportedly invested more than $150m from its $250m Intaj Capital fund.

ICICI Venture is to suffer another high profile departure. Deshpande is set to leave the firm, reportedly to take a position with NEA, just months after Aluri Rao left to lead Morgan Stanley Private Equity’s India operations.

The Auckland firm has also acquired a 45 percent stake in New Zealand King Salmon, the country's largest aquaculture company.

The buyout firm has appointed Yoshiharu Fukuhara, honorary chairman of luxury cosmetic line Shiseido, as a senior advisor in Japan.

Abraaj Capital has appointed four executive directors across its investment, portfolio management and finance teams as it looks to continue its expansion in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia.

Two former JPMorgan bankers have set up Ancora Capital Management, an Indonesia-focused private equity firm, to invest in the country’s natural resources and infrastructure sectors.

The Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges will make it easier for private equity firms to exit their Chinese investments. Backers of portfolio companies that have gone public will now only have to wait one year instead of three years to sell stakes.

Pantheon Ventures, one of the earliest fund of funds managers to invest in Asia, has bulked up its Hong Kong-based team, anticipating increased deal flow. Citi executive Alex Wilmerding and ex-McKinsey researcher Minjun Chung are among three new hires.

IDFC Private Equity, its parent company IDFC and CDC Group are part of a consortium participating in a second round of funding for Moser Baer PhotoVoltaic.