Balasubrahmanyan will be based in Singapore and will establish a Carlyle investments practice there.
Balasubrahmanyan is a career investment banker and has spent 12 years in the industry. He was most recently executive director and head of global capital markets for Southeast Asia at Morgan Stanley. The hire reflects CarlyleÆs optimism on investment opportunities in the region.
"We are stepping up our efforts with a dedicated team based in Singapore under Anand's leadership to pursue investments across the region, especially in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam,ö says XD Yang, managing director and co-head of Carlyle Asia Partners. ôWe will partner with local companies and management teams to grow their businesses in their own markets as well as regionally and globally."
Carlyle has a team of 33 investment professionals covering Asia ex-Japan based in six offices in Hong Kong, Mumbai, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore and Sydney. Carlyle's office in Singapore was started in July 2000 by David Tung, a managing director covering Asia investor relations from Singapore.
It is a widespread trend for investment bankers to switch to private equity, especially in Asia. Elsewhere in the world, private equity firms tend to poach from industry and law firms as well as from investment banks, but in Asia where structuring is often critical to deal closure, bankers bring the necessary skills to the table.
Carlyle must be hoping that Balasubrahmanyam's success in winning and closing deals for Morgan Stanley will be replicated at Carlyle. For its part, the US investment bank has lost a valuable banker but potentially gained a client. Hopefully, a win-win situation for all.
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