Malaysia warms to private equity but problems exist

Private equity (PE) has been slow to take off in Malaysia, but there are signs that this may be changing.

Late last year, global investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) surprised the market when it paid $201.2 million for a "substantial minority" stake in Weststar Aviation Services - a Malaysian company that provides offshore helicopter transportation services to oil and gas firms.

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This was KKR's first venture into Malaysia and is not expected to be its last. At the time, the firm's regional head for Southeast Asia, Ming Lu, said: "Malaysia is a key target market for KKR."

In a statement he said: "In our opinion it has differentiated demographics with a young and growing population, has its own natural resources, has a strong banking system with a relatively balanced economy, and strong opportunities for growth and productivity."

Lu said KKR was "very pleased" to partner with Weststar because "we believe trends in the oil and gas sector in Malaysia and the broader region are long-term positive".

Weststar was by far the biggest private equity deal last year in Malaysia.

In 2013, Malaysia saw eight PE deals, according to data compiled by valuation and consulting firm American Appraisal.

"The Malaysian PE equity market has always been very thin," says Rodney Muse, co-founder and managing partner of Navis Investment Partners (Asia), "but it received a bit of a boost recently via a couple of hallmark deals - one being Weststar."

Muse tells China Daily that while Malaysia welcomes overseas investment, on a practical level it is still difficult for foreigners to do business there.

"Private equity is still very foreign to most of Asia," he says. "Business is done on a personal basis and sticking a deal together can take a long time. The other factor worth remembering is that many companies in Asia are still family-run."

Muse explains that, like most Asian markets, Malaysia is not a place where you can fly in, negotiate a deal and then fly out again.

"It doesn't work that way. There are cultural and social issues that need to be observed and that is something you gain as a foreigner living in Malaysia over a period of time."