Private Equity Veteran ShawKwei Is Shunning China Investments

ShawKwei & Partners, one of Hong Kong oldest private equity firms that three years ago decamped for rival Singapore, is staying away from China despite a more bullish sentiment growing toward the world’s second largest economy.

Beijing’s tilt toward state-backed firms, an unpredictable political climate, and ongoing US-China decoupling have made Chinese private equity effectively uninvestable, according to founder Kyle Shaw.

“It’s not that I dislike China,” Shaw said in an interview. “It’s just that I don’t have the time right now to focus the management resources on something where I think the returns will be thin when I’ve ...