Institutional Investor Interest In EM Private Equity Set To Grow

Institutional investors’ interest in emerging markets private equity continues to grow, according to a survey released Friday by Emerging Markets Private Equity Association (EMPEA). The 2007 report shows that 78% of limited partners (LPs) surveyed expect to increase commitments to emerging markets private equity over the next five years, up from 65% of LPs last year. And while they plan to ramp up investments across all emerging markets, 64% of them expect to be investing in Latin America by 2012, set against 31% currently. They predict private equity in EM will produce returns at a 5.4% premium over US buyouts and forecast outperformance relative to developed market funds over the same period.