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Laxman Pai, Opalesque Asia:

Local private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) fund managers say they expect deal activity in China to recover in the coming months as the number of new coronavirus infections in China dwindles and businesses begin to resume trading, said Preqin.

The coronavirus pandemic, which started in the city of Wuhan in Hubei province about three months ago, has roiled the world's second-largest economy.

In January and February retail sales fell by 20.5% compared with the same time last year, while industrial output slid by 13.5% and fixed-asset investment dropped by almost a quarter, according to the country's National Bureau of Statistics.

The volume and value of PE/VC deals tumbled during this period, Preqin data shows. Venture capital deal activity was especially hard hit: aggregate deal value plunged by 63% to $2.8bn, while the number of deals more than halved, from 564 in Jan-Feb 2019 to 241 in Jan-Feb 2020.

Deal activity in the private equity-backed buyout market, which is smaller, by comparison, was also reduced. Aggregate deal value fell by 57% to $0.3bn, and the number of deals slipped from nine to just six when comparing the same periods.

This sharp drop in PE/VC deal activity in the first two months of the year reflects disruptions to business rather than a sudden change in investor sentiment, fund managers interviewed by Preqin said.

There are some positive signs which indicate that the Chinese Government's efforts to c......................

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