Key Takeaways
- Geography: Hong Kong.
Analysis
Aquilius Investment Partners has taken a decisive step to deepen its Asia presence by launching a new office in Hong Kong and hiring two senior secondaries specialists from HarbourVest. The move signals an intensified push into private equity secondaries across the Asia Pacific market.
The firm has appointed Martin Yung as Managing Director and Head of Private Equity Secondaries and added Patrick Qian as Principal to the team in Hong Kong. Both join from HarbourVest and will focus on sourcing and executing GP- and LP-led liquidity solutions across the region.
Founded in 2021 by industry veterans Bastian Wolff and Christian Keiber, Aquilius has grown rapidly. The Firm now operates with some 30 on-the-ground professionals across Asia Pacific and recently closed its real estate secondaries flagship, raising over $1.1 billion in commitments — underscoring its fundraising momentum and sector focus.
The Asian secondaries market has attracted heightened attention as limited partners seek liquidity options and general partners pursue continuation vehicles and structured solutions. Institutional interest in Asia-focused secondaries has increased in recent years, with global secondary volumes regularly topping the low‑hundreds of billions and APAC becoming a key growth corridor for specialised platforms.
For Aquilius, the Hong Kong address is strategic: it provides proximity to Greater China, Southeast Asia and international LPs operating in the territory. Bringing in experienced dealmakers such as Yung — who has led more than $2 billion of transactions in the region — and Qian strengthens the firm’s ability to execute bespoke transactions, from single-asset recapitalisations to multi-asset portfolio restructurings.
Looking ahead, Aquilius is likely to leverage its Hong Kong hub to accelerate transaction activity and deepen relationships with institutional investors. The firm’s recent fund close and these appointments suggest an ambition to scale both private equity and real estate secondaries offerings across APAC — at a time when tailored liquidity solutions are increasingly sought by market participants.