Wataru Kodama

Baring Private Equity Asia (Japan) (BPEA-JP) is the Japanese office of Baring Private Equity Asia (BPEA), an independent investment firm founded in 1997 and headquartered in Hong Kong with additional offices in Singapore, Shanghai and San Francisco. BPEA focuses on the Chinese private equity market, and looks for diversification across the region, particularly in Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Korea. BPEA is an affiliate of UK-based Baring Private Equity International, which in turn was part of ING Group (NYSE: ING) until a 2004 MBO. The UK firm acts as a global platform enabling regionally-owned affiliates to share their global expertise. BPEA-JP was established in 2007 and is located in Tokyo. The firm contributes local expertise to the management of BPEA's Asian private equity investment funds. Their clients and partners are institutional investors including major private equity firms, intermediaries, financial institutions, pension plans, and governmental entities.