Key Takeaways
- • BDA Partners held its 8th Private Equity Conference at the Conrad Hong Kong on 28 and 29 October 2026, the first time the event has been staged in Hong Kong since it began there in 2019.
- • Investors from more than 90 firms attended, including Blackstone, Bain Capital, EQT, CVC, Warburg Pincus, Temasek and Partners Group, with 250 one-on-one meetings held between founders, CEOs and CFOs of 26 presenting companies and investors.
- • Since 2022 the conference has placed nearly 200 companies in front of sponsors through more than 1,400 one-on-one meetings, according to BDA.
- • Panel discussions highlighted supplier consolidation by global brands, the role of synergies rather than multiple arbitrage in Asian platform returns, and the effects of AI on services businesses.
- • BDA plans to hold the event again in 2027, with a save-the-date to be issued in January; the conference is invitation only.
Summary
BDA Partners, the global investment banking advisor, held its 8th Private Equity Conference at the Conrad Hong Kong on 28 and 29 October 2026. It was the first time the event has been held in Hong Kong since the conference began there in 2019. According to BDA, investors from more than 90 firms attended, including Advantage Partners, Ares, Bain Capital, Blackstone, Boyu, CDH, CVC, EQT, FountainVest, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Hillhouse, HongShan, ICG, L Catterton, PAG, Partners Group, Permira, Platinum Equity, Temasek, Warburg Pincus and others.
The two-day program included 250 one-on-one meetings between founders, CEOs and CFOs of 26 presenting companies and the investors attending. BDA noted that since 2022 the conference has put nearly 200 companies in front of sponsors through more than 1,400 such meetings. The morning of 28 October also featured networking, a founder fireside chat and three panels on themes shaping private equity investing in Asia.
One panel examined the supply chains behind global brands, where suppliers are increasingly scored on performance and potential and consolidated around a small number of providers that deliver both. A second panel on the platform playbook concluded that, while multiple arbitrage driven by scale and scarcity is real, the larger part of platform returns comes from synergies, meaning revenues and earnings that exist only because the businesses were combined. A third panel addressed services businesses in the AI era, where BDA said both disruption and tailwinds are already visible among companies in the room.
In a founder fireside chat, Euan Rellie spoke with Ranjan Mahtani, Founder and Chairman of Epic Group, who has built a Hong Kong apparel business to close to US$1bn over 40 years. Mahtani advised founders to decide quickly, accept that some decisions will be wrong, and treat speed as a competitive advantage. BDA marked its 30th anniversary the same evening with a reception in Hong Kong Park. The conference is invitation only, and BDA said its meeting schedule fills weeks before each event.
The two-day program included 250 one-on-one meetings between founders, CEOs and CFOs of 26 presenting companies and the investors attending. BDA noted that since 2022 the conference has put nearly 200 companies in front of sponsors through more than 1,400 such meetings. The morning of 28 October also featured networking, a founder fireside chat and three panels on themes shaping private equity investing in Asia.
One panel examined the supply chains behind global brands, where suppliers are increasingly scored on performance and potential and consolidated around a small number of providers that deliver both. A second panel on the platform playbook concluded that, while multiple arbitrage driven by scale and scarcity is real, the larger part of platform returns comes from synergies, meaning revenues and earnings that exist only because the businesses were combined. A third panel addressed services businesses in the AI era, where BDA said both disruption and tailwinds are already visible among companies in the room.
In a founder fireside chat, Euan Rellie spoke with Ranjan Mahtani, Founder and Chairman of Epic Group, who has built a Hong Kong apparel business to close to US$1bn over 40 years. Mahtani advised founders to decide quickly, accept that some decisions will be wrong, and treat speed as a competitive advantage. BDA marked its 30th anniversary the same evening with a reception in Hong Kong Park. The conference is invitation only, and BDA said its meeting schedule fills weeks before each event.
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