A super limited partner has emerged.

This scene is unexpected.

According to investment industry sources, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) recently signed a strategic cooperation agreement. A detail in the agreement caught the attention of investment institutions -

The two sides will jointly support venture capital funds in Asian emerging markets.

In other words, the AIIB and the HKMA are joining hands to become limited partners (LPs) of venture capital institutions.

The HKMA Joins Hands with the AIIB

Recently, the 10th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the AIIB was held in Beijing. Paul Chan Mo-po, the Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, attended the meeting and signed the strategic cooperation agreement.

According to investment industry sources, the HKMA and the AIIB will closely cooperate to invest in a series of venture capital funds focusing on Asian emerging markets. Further, the two sides aim to support Asian emerging economies in developing green and technology - enabled infrastructure through technological and business model innovation, and to promote the development of the venture capital and innovation ecosystem in Hong Kong.

(From left to right) Acting Chief Investment Officer of the AIIB Rajat Misra, President of the AIIB Jin Liqun, Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government Paul Chan Mo - po, and Deputy Chief Executive of the HKMA Eddie Yue Wai - man

The HKMA is the central banking institution of Hong Kong. It was established in April 1993 through the merger of the Exchange Fund Office and the Office of the Commissioner of Banking. Its main responsibility is to maintain the stability of the monetary and banking systems.

In the past, we often saw the HKMA in the venture capital field. A typical example is the Hong Kong Investment Corporation (HKIC). In its early days, the HKMA provided support in investment, logistics, and operations.

Regarding this cooperation with the AIIB, HKMA Chief Executive Eddie Yue Wai - man said that it would enable the HKMA to leverage the AIIB's rich experience and network resources in Asian emerging markets to find investment opportunities with appropriate risk management and governance frameworks.

The other protagonist, the AIIB, is a multilateral development bank initiated by China, focusing on the development of Asia. According to its official website, the AIIB officially started operations in January 2016, with its headquarters in Beijing. It is committed to financing future - oriented infrastructure with sustainability at its core. It has grown from 57 founding members to an international multilateral development institution with 110 members worldwide.

The AIIB manages funds worth $100 billion. Its investment is inclined towards green, technology - driven, and connectivity - promoting infrastructure projects, mainly aiming to improve the infrastructure level in Asia and the world, promote regional connectivity, and facilitate the green transformation of member economies.

Regarding this cooperation, AIIB President Jin Liqun said, "Signing the strategic cooperation agreement with the HKMA will further deepen our relationship. By pooling our strengths and expertise, this partnership will support infrastructure financing, promote innovative practices, and accelerate the transformation process of the Asian region towards a sustainable and prosperous future."

Paul Chan Mo - po said in his speech, "This cooperation will fully combine and leverage the resources, knowledge, experience, and networks of the HKMA and the AIIB to help Asian emerging economies achieve more prosperous, inclusive, and innovative development through technology. It will also contribute to building a more vibrant venture capital and innovation ecosystem in the region and further consolidate Hong Kong's status as an international financial and innovation center."

In addition, Paul Chan Mo - po also revealed a series of possible future cooperation -

Hong Kong will further strengthen cooperation with the AIIB. Through financial innovation, such as issuing bonds in more currencies and different maturities, it will guide market funds to participate in supporting green and sustainable development projects and related technological solutions in Asia. It also supports the AIIB in conducting treasury management activities in Hong Kong and further establishing a regional business office, and hopes that the proposal will be implemented soon.

Seeking Fresh Capital in the Primary Market

The cooperation between Hong Kong and the AIIB undoubtedly means the emergence of a major LP.

Although the detailed investment situation is not yet clear, this can be seen as a rare source of fresh capital for VC/PE in recent years. Before this, the fundraising situation of foreign - currency funds was obvious to all.

As data from the Zero2IPO Research Center shows, in the first quarter of 2025, a total of 988 RMB - denominated funds completed new rounds of fundraising, with a total scale of 342.616 billion RMB, accounting for 99.6% in quantity and 98.7% in scale. In the same period, only 4 foreign - currency funds that can invest in the Chinese mainland completed new rounds of fundraising, a year - on - year decrease of 71.4%. The fundraising scale was approximately 4.468 billion RMB, a year - on - year decrease of 77.9%. The presence of foreign capital has faded.

This is just one aspect.

In recent years, the lack of market - oriented LPs has become one of the most serious problems for VC/PE. With the decline of the primary market's dividend period, unmet DPI targets and various restrictive requirements of state - owned LPs have deeply affected the willingness of market - oriented funds to invest.

"The fundraising situation is getting more and more difficult." This is the common feeling of most practitioners.

Everyone is waiting for fresh capital and a turning point. Remember in March this year, during the Two Sessions, the proposal to establish a national venture capital guidance fund was put forward for the first time. It is expected to drive nearly 1 trillion RMB of local funds and social capital, with a term of 20 years, which was once regarded as the biggest source of fresh capital for the venture capital industry this year.

At the beginning of May, the People's Bank of China and the China Securities Regulatory Commission jointly issued an announcement on supporting the issuance of science and technology innovation bonds, opening the gate for such bonds. Subsequently, the first batch of private venture capital institutions approved for the science and technology innovation bond pilot program, such as Zhongke Chuangxing, Orient Fortune Capital, Yida Capital, and Legend Capital, successfully issued bonds one after another.

After all the ups and downs, every positive signal now is extremely precious. We are eagerly looking forward to it.

This article is from the WeChat official account "Investment World" (ID: pedaily2012), author: Yang Wenjing. It is reprinted by 36Kr with authorization.