Shanghai-based asset manager Yingke PE has set up two new funds with a total target corpus of 1 billion yuan ($156.8 million) as it seeks to expand its portfolio of almost 300 biopharmaceutical and hard tech companies.
Yingke PE, which manages over 50 billion yuan ($7.8 billion) in assets, said in a statement on Thursday that it is raising the capital from institutional investors, including biopharmaceutical companies, local governments, and insurance firms.
The firm announced its new fundraising target after it had collected a combined 6 billion yuan ($940.7 million) for an RMB-denominated fund earlier this year.
By far, it has bagged close to 20 billion yuan ($3.1 billion) in capital commitments this year. In 2020, Yingke PE raised more than 15 billion yuan ($2.4 billion) from limited partners (LPs), said the firm in the statement.
Yingke PE, founded in 2010, is a mixed-ownership company in which Chinese state funds hold a 30% stake. The firm manages capital for LPs, about 90% of which are financial institutions and Chinese state-owned enterprises.
It has backed companies such as medical devices maker Sanyou Medical; Beijing-based pharmacy app Dingdang Kuaiyao; biopharmaceutical firm CANbridge; and JOINN Biologics, a contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) that develops innovative drugs.
Nearly 60% of its portfolio companies are in the biopharmaceutical field. Last year, about 15 of its portfolio companies conducted initial public offerings (IPOs). About 60 additional companies will soon move towards a public listing, it said.