Hillhouse, ByteDance, and Shein’s dance around the China question

What do private equity firm Hillhouse Capital and tech giants Shein and ByteDance have in common? In just the past few years, all three China-founded firms have put down strong roots in Singapore, with the first two relocating their headquarters to the city-state.

The “Singaporization” of their corporate domicile and corporate branding is part of a broader move that some call a “China-shedding” strategy. This approach is designed to help these firms appeal to overseas investors and reduce risks associated with their affiliation to China.

Image credit: Timmy Loen

While it may help lessen scrutiny from regulators and media, it raises a key question: Can these firms truly distance themselves from their core advantage, which is leveraging their experience in China to build up technological capabilities and expertise?

Home advantage

For Hillhouse, the stakes of this shift are high.

The firm lists Singapore as its principal place of business in its most recent US Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

Mentions of “China” and Hillhouse’s relevant track record in the country also seem to have been scrubbed from its website. Instead, the firm now emphasizes its investments in markets like Singapore, South Korea, and the US.

But the reality is more complex. Hillhouse’s core value proposition remains deeply tied to its expertise in navigating the Chinese market.

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Its founder, Zhang Lei, recently attended a high-profile meeting with Shanghai’s Communist Party chief Chen Jining to talk about promoting the private sector and soliciting foreign investments.

Zhang’s attendance sparked online debates in China on whether the page had been turned on the China Securities Regulatory Commission’s investigation into the company’s violation of share transfer rules last year.

Indeed, Hillhouse is not just a global investor; it’s a China-specialist global investor. Its future success will depend on how well it can balance global aspirations with its deep-rooted relationships in China.

Over the past few years, Shein and ByteDance have also been following a similar shift. Shein moved its headquarters to Singapore in 2022, and ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming now calls the city-state home.

The China question