According to people familiar with the matterBlackstone Group IncThe group is investing heavily in Asia, hoping to raise at least $5 billion for its second region-focused private equity fund.

The US investment company has begun to promote the new fund to potential investors. The company aims to more than double the size of its first Asian buy-out fund. In 2018, the size of the fund was about $2.3 billion.

Blackstone Group Inc is raising more and more money because the market volatility brought about by the coronavirus pandemic provides more trading opportunities. Jon gray, the company's president, has vowed to increase the proportion of Asian investment in the company's total business. Two years ago, Asian investment accounted for slightly less than 10 per cent of the company's total business.

Blackstone Group Inc is likely to expand its latest investment fund based on the level of demand in the coming months, according to people familiar with the matter.

Blackstone Group Inc is betting that global fund managers' interest in Asia will continue to grow as Asia recovers from the epidemic faster than the rest of the world. Transaction traffic has begun to pick up and is likely to accelerate in 2021, as some transactions are suspended due to COVID-19 's spread and are expected to resume.

Many of Blackstone Group Inc's current holdings are in the consumer, healthcare and technology sectors, which have benefited from a shift to online consumption and increased demand for medical services this year. In August, the company agreed to buy Takeda's over-the-counter drug business for 242 billion yen ($2.3 billion), its largest private equity acquisition in Japan.