Saint Clair Secondaries Briefing — Asia
Edition 1 · 6–17 January 2026
Saint Clair Capital · Ground Truth | January 2026
The first fortnight of 2026 opened on three structural signals: an anchor LP commitment to a China continuation vehicle, a regulator binding subsidy capital to LP-side liquidity, and a global consolidation move that thins mid-market secondary coverage. Asia remains 2–3% of global secondary volume. The composition of that 2–3% is changing.
ADIA anchors USD 770m CDH continuation vehicle
China · PE · Secondaries Investor / DealStreetAsia, 5 January 2026
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, via a wholly owned subsidiary, led the lead-investor commitment to a multi-asset continuation vehicle for CDH Investments’ fifth flagship fund. The vehicle acquires a diversified portfolio valued at USD 770m as of end-2024, including Belle International, Ednovation, ATA Online, and a holding entity for the Taobao Shangou food delivery platform. The deal is the largest single-LP-anchored China-focused CV of the post-2022 re-rating cycle and the clearest signal yet that Gulf sovereign capital is prepared to underwrite China discount risk where the asset profile is mid-cap, scaled, and operationally mature. Freshfields advised ADIA. Debevoise advised CDH.
Secondaries Investor · DealStreetAsia · ADIA press release
EQT to combine with Coller Capital — USD 3.2bn (USD 3.7bn with earn-out)
Global · Secondaries · EQT / Bloomberg, 22 January 2026
EQT AB announced agreement to acquire Coller Capital, forming a dedicated Secondaries platform — “Coller EQT” — with approximately USD 50bn AUM at close. Consideration is USD 3.2bn in newly issued EQT shares, with up to USD 500m in contingent cash. Closing is expected Q3 2026. The Asia implication is structural: secondary coverage of Asian LP portfolios and GP-led processes consolidates further into a small set of global platforms. Mid-market Asian specialists will face a higher credibility threshold for cross-border mandates. The transaction was in adviser and structuring phase throughout the CW02 window; the public announcement followed on 22 January.
Bloomberg · EQT press release · DealStreetAsia
CPPIB initiates adviser search for USD 1.5bn Asia PE fund stakes sale
Pan-Asian · LP secondaries · Private Equity Insights, January 2026
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board began sounding out advisers in early 2026 for a sale of approximately USD 1.5bn in Asia private equity fund interests. The exposures are mid-2010s vintages with managers including Hillhouse Investment, Bain Capital, and PAG. The signal here is independent of the continuation-vehicle supply story: a mature pension LP is rebalancing away from a generation of Asia commitments. Pricing on the eventual process, particularly for the China-exposed sleeves, will set a tone for 2026 LP secondary discounts in the region.
Private Equity Insights · Bloomberg
HSF Kramer: Asia private capital fundraising closes 2025 at 12-year low
Pan-Asian · Fundraising · HSF Kramer, 13 January 2026
Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer’s quarterly Asia private capital review reports 2025 fundraising at USD 58bn (excluding RMB-denominated vehicles) — a 12-year low. A pronounced Q4 2025 uptick reflects a small number of late-quarter closings rather than market normalisation. Secondaries-strategy fundraising specifically saw fewer vehicles raised and lower aggregate commitments than in 2024. The firm flags continuation vehicles and secondary transactions as the most plausible 2026 DPI route for the asset class — confirming that the demand for liquidity solutions is structural, not cyclical.
Market Intelligence
Jefferies records USD 240bn 2025 global secondary volume; Asia 2–3% of total. LP-driven trades USD 125bn (52%); average CV size ~USD 900m; average LP portfolio pricing 87% of NAV. H1 2026 expected above USD 100bn on backlog. Jefferies
Morrison Foerster: continuation funds and secondary buyouts becoming standard exit tools. 15 January outlook frames CVs and SBOs as mainstream rather than alternative; bespoke liquidity (NAV loans, preferred equity, strip sales) moves from niche to standard practice through 2026. Morrison Foerster
Goldman Sachs closes Industry Ventures acquisition. Adds venture-stage secondaries capability to GSAM’s later-stage platform — relevant cross-cycle coverage for Asian VC fund managers holding venture-stage portfolios. Goldman Sachs · Secondaries Investor
Korea NPS forms dedicated continuation fund and GP stakes teams. Strategic pivot to alternatives, private credit and secondaries, with KRW 130.97 trillion of new capital deployment in 2026. NPS now a credible anchor LP for Asian CVs — a position it has not historically taken. Private Equity International
KDB opens RFP for KRW 7.45 trillion National Growth Fund parent funds. 15 January launch; proposals close 5 February; managers selected March 2026. Eligibility threshold KRW 1 trillion AUM. State capital channelling toward deep-tech and AI ventures with explicit secondary and continuation strategy allocation. KoreaTechDesk
Regional Context
Japan. Morrison Foerster’s separate Japan-specific note projects material GP-led activity in 2026 as 2020–2021 vintage funds approach end-of-life. The reference precedent remains J-STAR’s late-2025 waste-treatment CV via holding company Renatus. No new Japanese CV closed within the CW02 window. Morrison Foerster — Japan
Signal
The opening fortnight of 2026 frames the year’s central question for buy-side participants: who is the marginal anchor of an Asian continuation vehicle? The CDH/ADIA structure is one answer. The NPS pivot is a second. CPPIB’s exit from mid-2010s exposures is the inverse signal: the Asian buyer base is rotating in composition while headcount holds.
We assess the implication as widening price dispersion through the year. Mid-cap, scaled assets with credible operational continuity (the CDH portfolio profile) will continue to clear at or near global pricing benchmarks. Tail-end exposures held by mature pension LPs will discount more aggressively as those LPs run portfolio-level processes through advisers who price for clearance. The MSME Ministry’s mandatory 10% LP-stake acquisition rule for subsidised Korean secondary funds is the policy artefact most worth tracking: it is the first instrument in the region to bind subsidy capital to LP-side liquidity rather than GP-led restructuring. If it holds, expect KVIC and National Growth Fund parent-fund criteria to converge in the same direction by H2.
EQT/Coller changes who shows up to bid for Asian processes. Deal supply itself stays on its current path.
Saint Clair Secondaries Briefing — Asia. Fortnightly. Published by Saint Clair Pte. Ltd., Singapore.
The briefing is editorial intelligence. It is not investment advice.
© 2026 Saint Clair Pte. Ltd.
Disclaimer: This briefing is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. All decisions should be made based on independent research and consultation with qualified advisors.
About Saint Clair: Saint Clair designs and builds cross-border capital infrastructure between Europe and Asia — proposing access where access is scarce, and creating structure where structure is absent. Since 2016.