KKR on the prowl at SGX, says its S-E Asia head

BUYOUT giant KKR is looking at a couple of companies listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX), said Ashish Shastry, the private equity firm's head of South-east Asia.

These could be mid-cap companies in the manufacturing or industrials sector, valued from a few hundreds of millions to S$1.5 billion, he said.

"There's value in stocks in Singapore, I think you can pay premiums to take some of these companies private," said Mr Shastry.

KKR, also known as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, is flush with dry powder after raising a US$9.3 billion fund in June for private equity investments across the Asia-Pacific.