British Private Equity Fund Terra Firma Capital Partners is trying to entice Chinese partners for business ventures in Western markets and potentially Africa. The fund’s chairman Guy Hands said that as a result of Europe’s debt crisis, Terra Firma has shifted its strategy to focus more on China. "We feel very strongly that the economic future of the world for the next 20 to 50 years is going to be dominated by China," Hands told a media roundtable in Beijing, saying he aims to visit China twice a year.
Since Terra Firma was founded in 1994, it has invested €13 billion in deals with a total value of €42 billion in a variety of sectors, from property to cattle ranching and from music publishing to power generation. Hands said Terra Firma will select potential Chinese partners for businesses such as Infinis Energy, a UK-based renewable energy group, and AWAS Aviation Capital, an international aircraft leasing company whose clients include China’s biggest state-owned carriers.
Apart from China, there are good investment opportunities in markets such as Brazil, India, South Africa, and probably Angola, Hands said. "Correct investments in Africa could be very successful," he said, without elaborating.
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