Baring Private Equity Asia made its largest India investment ever last year by forking out $465 million on a buyout (rare in India) of Hexaware technologies. It also took a minority stake in cement marker Lafarge India for $260 million.

“You could say we’re contrarian,” says Jean Eric Salata, chief executive and founding partner. “We like to look at situations when sentiment is weak, and for India it’s quite weak. It’s been a difficult environment, but the medium-to-long term prospects for the right companies are still very bright.”

Baring also proposed the $2.8 billion take-private of China’s online game developer Giant Interactive from the NYSE, which would be among the largest offshore privatisations of a Chinese company.

Baring’s last fund closed on its @2.46 billion hard cap after only five months. That was in 2011, and it’s about twothirds invested, Salata says --which means the firm is likely to return to the fundraising trail in 2014.