Growth at a Discount: Opportunities Abound in the APAC Secondaries Market

The global secondary market saw record volume in 2025, and growth can increasingly be found in the APAC region.  

APAC accounts for less than 10% of the now-$240 billion secondary market. But investor appetite is growing as APAC secondary funds have enough dry powder to fund three years’ worth of deals.

The APAC secondary market is propelled by many of the same factors driving global secondary growth. They include larger, more sophisticated pools of capital, investors developing more industry- and sector-specific practices, and both LPs and GPs turning to the secondary market to access liquidity amid a prolonged distribution drought.

Yet the APAC region – and its component countries – also present a distinct opportunity set.

Some of the challenges inherent to the region, such as relatively muted M&A activity and a narrower set of exit options, have made secondaries a preferred route to liquidity for both GPs and LPs. Although APAC buyout and venture funds continue to trade at a lower proportion of NAV than their counterparts in North America and Europe, this also means many high-growth companies in rapidly expanding markets can be acquired at a comparative discount.

In March 2026, APAC, like the rest of the world, was shaken by conflict in the Middle East, which has destabilized global energy markets. However, the APAC secondary market still offers many opportunities for investors aiming to acquire secondary assets in the region or rebalance away from it. Here are some of the key factors we expect to influence the APAC secondary market this year and beyond.

• Growth at a Discount: Asian countries face different risks than those in North America and Europe, but those risks are often baked into lower prices. Particularly striking are the many investments in venture-backed and growth companies made in the 2020 to 2022 period when valuations were at their peak. When many of these companies come to market now to raise a new round of financing, their valuations are 50% or more below what they were a few years ago.

• Investment opportunities differ greatly by country, as do the risks, risk premiums, and investor bases involved in buying secondaries. Australia, Japan, and, to some extent, Korea are developed economies that, in many ways, resemble the U.S. They have private equity ecosystems focused on mid-market buyout transactions, with bank financing available. India, China, and Southeast Asia are more representative of the growth side of the Asia story, with numerous VC-backed growth companies offering investment opportunities. 

• Secondary investors are becoming increasingly positive toward China. A surge in Hong Kong IPOs has helped foster a more constructive view of China-related opportunities. While buyers remain selective, participation levels have increased meaningfully. Five China continuation vehicles closed in 2025, up from one in the prior year, as GPs have become more realistic about valuation expectations. 

• Venture/growth strategies continue to dominate LP transaction volume. The supply of Asia buyout funds remains relatively limited for highly sought-after regions like Australia and Japan. Venture and growth strategies experienced a sharp uplift driven by IPO activity. This was especially true in China.

• LPs are using secondaries to rebalance or reduce exposure to Asia. APAC LPs continue to utilize the secondary market for liquidity and portfolio rebalancing. Most APAC LP portfolios often include North American and European exposures, reflecting more favorable pricing dynamics. Meanwhile, a growing number of large, global institutions are considering rebalancing strategies for their legacy APAC private equity portfolios.

• AI may be less disruptive in Asia than in the U.S., particularly in China, where software providers historically have had limited pricing power. The market is dominated by a small number of large platforms, while enterprise customers typically demand deeply customized solutions rather than standardized, per‑seat subscription products. There is no equivalent to Salesforce, Workday, or ServiceNow: companies that depend heavily on recurring subscription revenue from per-seat software. Investors in the secondary market for Asian companies are therefore not exposed to the same AI-driven de-rating risk that has significantly affected US software stocks. In Asian secondary financial markets, AI is generally seen as a capability enhancer rather than an existential threat to revenue.

• GP-led transactions, particularly continuation vehicles, are increasingly viewed by GPs as part of the liquidity toolkit, supported by a more sophisticated secondary investor base that underwrites opportunities on an asset-by-asset basis, applying differentiated financial metrics and forward-looking fundamentals rather than blanket regional discounts.

As the secondary market has grown, so too has the Jefferies secondary advisory team, which now counts over 90 bankers globally. In APAC alone, we have advised on more than 25 secondary transactions, led by both general partners and limited partners, totaling $10 billion in volume.