Private equity firms revise China strategy as regulatory crackdown widens

Private equity firms are rethinking their strategies in China as a widening regulatory crackdown on some of the country’s hottest sectors forces investors to scout for bets in other industries that they hope will be less vulnerable to sudden policy changes. Private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) funds are pivoting away from data-heavy, consumer-facing internet companies to sectors including semiconductors and renewable energy, industry executives said. The shift comes as investors reel from a barrage of regulatory scrutiny and radical rule changes in the last few months targeting big domestic companies, mainly from the internet, private education and property sectors.