In early 2003 Compass began to investigate opportunities in Emerging Asia. At the time, opportunities in the region were widely ignored and asset prices remained depressed. The perception was that the region was still characterized by crony capitalism and chaotic structural regimes, a legacy of the 1997/1998 Asia crisis. The reality was that most countries in the region had continued to develop export industries while putting new emphasis on domestic consumption and intra-regional trade, were in a demographic sweet spot, had made significant progress towards financial liberalization and fixing the issues which led to the preceding crisis, and were extremely attractive from a valuation perspective. To gain exposure, Compass decided to invest into a variety of investment vehicles focused on the region generally, and China, India, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia specifically.

Since the initial Compass investment in 2003, the Emerging Asia story has become widely recognized as the most important long-term investment theme for the global economy. Compass has remained active in the region, and continued to invest in the most promising opportunities, leveraging our experience of several years developing local contacts, analyzing and investing in new vehicles and markets, and closely following broader developments. Our total investment in Emerging Asia now stands at $50+ million, and we continue to look for new opportunities, markets and managers as we expand our long term commitment to the region.