Private Equity Giant Hillhouse Quashes Loss Speculation as Stocks Plunge

Hillhouse’s fund manager responsible for secondary market investments held 76 U.S.-traded stocks at the end of last year, which had a total market valuation of $6.47 billion, according to an SEC filing. Photo: IC Photo

Private equity giant Hillhouse has denied speculation it lost more $30 billion during the recent rout of U.S.-traded Chinese stocks that was triggered in part by concerns American regulators are moving ahead with plans to force delistings of Chinese companies.

It would be impossible for Hillhouse to lose that amount of money as the total position of the firm’s dollar funds in U.S. stocks amounts to only about $6 billion, a representative of the Beijing-based investment firm told Caixin recently. The company, which is run by billionaire Zhang Lei, hasn’t disclosed the investment performance of the U.S.-traded Chinese stocks it holds, but it’s likely to have suffered heavy losses in the recent sell-off.