Saint Clair Secondaries Briefing — Asia
Edition 4 · 17–28 February 2026
Saint Clair Capital · Ground Truth | February 2026
Edition 3 recorded continuation vehicles at 43% of global secondary volume and the Korean financial-group VC cohort forming at KRW 100 billion scale. CW08 delivers the next two reference points. Morgan Stanley’s Asia PE division discloses plans for a continuation fund — the first major pan-Asian GP-led announcement of 2026 by an international platform. La Caisse publishes 2025 annual results on 26 February while its US$1.5 billion China PE secondary sale continues in active phase without closing disclosure. Korea’s policy architecture proceeds on schedule: the National Growth Fund indirect managers are announced the same day, KVIC’s first regular round of 2026 closes, and KB Investment’s first KRW 100 billion+ secondary fund closes the financial-group VC ring.
Morgan Stanley Asia PE Continuation Fund — the Pan-Asian Template Arrives
Pan-Asian · PE · DealStreetAsia, February 2026
Morgan Stanley’s Asia private equity division is preparing a continuation fund to transfer a selection of existing portfolio assets into a new secondary vehicle, paving the way for its next primary raise. The announcement is the first major 2026 disclosure of a pan-Asian GP-led continuation process by an international platform. Read alongside the CAIA 43% global CV-share figure from CW06 and the Ropes & Gray Q4 2025 “meaningful uptick” in Asian continuation activity, Morgan Stanley’s move signals that the template is no longer confined to country-specific Asian GPs (ADIA / CDH in CW04) or mid-market specialists. A house of this scale electing continuation as its bridge-to-next-raise mechanism provides a governance and structuring reference point for subsequent regional platforms considering the same path. For buy-side allocators the practical implication is that the Asian CV pipeline will now carry pan-Asian as well as country-specific exposure; for allocators whose mandates constrain country-single concentration, pan-Asian CV supply may resolve a sizing constraint that country-specific deals have not.
La Caisse Publishes 2025 Results While China Sale Stays in Active Phase
Global / Greater China · PE · La Caisse / Alternatives Watch, 26 February 2026
La Caisse reported a 9.3% annual return for 2025 and net assets of C$517 billion on 26 February. The release landed concurrently with the active phase of its US$1.5 billion China-focused PE secondary — stakes in HSG (formerly Sequoia Capital China), Warburg Pincus and Boyu Capital Investment Management, Greenhill advising. The sale has not cleared within window; no transaction-level pricing disclosure. The institutional framing provided by the 2025 results release matters: it positions the China sale as portfolio rebalancing inside a positive-return year. Buyers bidding into this process should expect a seller defending pricing inside the reported 40–50% Chinese secondary band, treating the outer edge as a discipline. The eventual disclosed anchor — when it arrives — will be the most consequential Asian LP-led print of H1 2026.
La Caisse 2025 Press Release · Alternatives Watch · Private Equity Insights
Korea’s National Growth Fund — KRW 450 bn Indirect Mandate Awarded
Korea · PE / VC · Financial Services Commission, 26 February 2026
The Financial Services Commission announced the results of the Korea Development Bank indirect fund manager selection for the National Growth Fund on 26 February. Four mandates totalling KRW 450 billion: Korea Growth Finance Investment Management receives the 국민참여형 재정모펀드 allocation at KRW 120 billion and the 스케일업·개별산업·지역지원 allocation at KRW 90 billion; Shinhan Asset Management receives the 산업종합지원 allocation at KRW 160 billion; Woori Asset Management receives the 장기기술투자 allocation at KRW 80 billion. Selected managers now oversee private sub-fund manager selection under KDB policy guidelines. Secondary and continuation-vehicle carve-outs will be defined at sub-fund level; sub-manager selection schedule is the next event. For international buyers the takeaway is the assembly speed — the Korean policy capital stack for 2026 is being built on a disciplined quarterly schedule and instrument composition will define specific buyer-side access points by the time Q2 opens.
KDI Economic Education and Information Center · FSC Notice
KVIC 2026 1차 정시 Round Closes — KRW 1.6 tn Across 13 Categories
Korea · VC · KVIC / Korea Policy Briefing, 26 February 2026
KVIC’s first regular 2026 Mother Fund commitment round closed applications at 14:00 KST on 26 February. Total programme size is KRW 2.144 trillion across 13 categories, including the segmented “general secondary” (KRW 60 billion government anchor, targeting KRW 200 billion total fund size) and “small-scale secondary” (KRW 20 billion anchor) tranches disclosed in CW06. Applicant identities are not disclosed at application close; selection is expected in April. The architecture disclosed in CW06 has proceeded on its schedule; the next data point is the April selection, which will determine which GPs hold the subsidised anchor for 2026 Korean domestic secondary activity.
Korea Policy Briefing · KVIC Notice
Market Intelligence
KB Investment closes first KRW 100 bn+ secondary fund. KB Investment completed formation of its first dedicated secondary fund at the KRW 100 billion+ scale in February. The close effectively closes the financial-group VC secondary ring described in Edition 3. KB joins Shinhan Venture Investment’s established secondary franchise and Woori Venture Partners’ newly awarded IBK-secondary GP mandate in the standing domestic cohort. Every major Korean financial-group VC except Hana Ventures now operates or has secured access to a secondary vehicle at this scale. The structural implication is that the Korean domestic clearing layer for small and mid-sized LP positions is now a standing feature of the market, with capacity available across the cycle. Bloter
Woori Venture Partners confirmed KDB secondary GP. Woori Venture Partners secured final GP selection for the KDB / Industrial Bank secondary segment under the 회수시장 활성화 지원펀드 (Exit Market Activation Support Fund) in February. Completes the policy-anchored branch of the financial-group cohort alongside KB’s independent secondary fund close. Bloter
Kolon Investments takes Best Deal ICT — Cynic Solutions returns 12x. The 2026 한국벤처캐피탈대상, co-hosted by thebell and KVCA on 25 February, awarded Kolon Investments Best Investment Deal (ICT) for its investment in semiconductor specialist Cynic Solutions. A KRW 3 billion investment through the Kolon 2020 Materials-Parts-Equipment Investment Association (KRW 50 billion fund size) returned approximately 12x on successful IPO. The data point matters for secondary readers as a counter-case: a working IPO channel delivered a clean 12x exit on a 2020 vintage, against which the pricing of LP positions in 2018–2021 Korean venture vehicles is implicitly measured. thebell
Marubeni enters US PE fund business via Branford Castle. Japanese trading house Marubeni announced a joint private equity fund with New York-based Branford Castle Partners, entering the US PE fund business formally. For Asian secondary readers, the relevance is indirect: Japanese corporate capital formalising PE allocations is the structural precondition for eventual Japanese LP secondary supply, which remains thin in the CW08 window despite sustained signals on Japanese GP-led activity. Nikkei Asia
National Growth Fund applications exceed target. Applications to the National Growth Fund public participation segment exceeded the KRW 150 trillion target, with reported intake near KRW 170 trillion by mid-window. For sell-side, a positive signal on 2026 policy capital availability. For buy-side, confirmation of the scale of the domestic Korean co-investor cohort being assembled. Korea Policy Briefing
Regional Context — What Did Not Happen in CW08
Three things did not appear in the window that sharpen what did. No Japanese-origin continuation fund was disclosed despite the CW04 Morrison Foerster thesis and the sustained Japanese GP-led signal; the Morgan Stanley Asia announcement is pan-Asian platform rather than country-specific. No La Caisse transaction-level pricing emerged to supplement the reported 40–50% Chinese secondary band. No disclosed Indian or Southeast Asian CV surfaced, despite EY India and SEA data suggesting underlying conditions favour them. The Asian secondary pricing edge remains undisclosed at transaction level through the full February window. Ropes & Gray’s Q1 2026 Update, due mid-March, will be the next consolidated reference point — the H1 triangulation question will therefore rest on CW10 and CW12.
Signal
Edition 3 said the buyer base is rotating in composition while headcount holds, and the pricing data is starting to triangulate.
CW08 closes the Korean domestic buyer ring. With KB Investment’s first KRW 100 billion+ secondary vehicle at close, Shinhan Venture Investment’s standing franchise, Woori’s newly confirmed KDB secondary GP status, and the awarded National Growth Fund indirect allocation at KRW 450 billion, Korea’s domestic secondary supply side is now fully architected at the fund-formation level for 2026. Hana Ventures is the single absent name. The ring is operationally closed.
CW08 opens the pan-Asian CV chapter. Morgan Stanley Asia is the first international platform to announce a pan-Asian continuation fund structure in 2026. The decision signals that continuation-as-bridge-to-next-raise is now the active template at the platform tier, not only among specialist or country-specific managers. Expect further pan-Asian platform announcements through H1 — the CAIA-established 43% global CV share will find its Asian mirror over the next two quarters.
The pricing edge remains hidden. La Caisse’s US$1.5 billion China sale continues in active phase; 2025 results delivered on 26 February reframe the sale as portfolio rotation, hardening the seller’s negotiating floor. No disclosed anchor emerges in CW08. The 40–50% reported Chinese band remains a reported band; clearance has not printed. For international buyers sizing Asian exposure, the implication is that the operating discount band must still be inferred from Campbell Lutyens (global LP-led 13.9%), Freshfields / ADIA / CDH (36% Asian CV anchor) and the reported Chinese band, with Morgan Stanley Asia CV providing the next expected data point when its terms disclose.
Three calibration points sharpen for 2026 allocators. Pan-Asian continuation supply is now in the pipeline alongside country-specific CV activity, which extends the accessible mandate universe. Korean domestic supply now operates as a standing feature, changing the positioning dynamic for any international buyer approaching Korean GPs. Asian pricing dispersion — the 13.9% to 40–50% range — has held through the February window. When the La Caisse sale clears, the operating band will either confirm or compress.
The quarter is producing the infrastructure; the second quarter will produce the prices.
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.