Baring Private Equity Asia raised US$1.52 billion for a fund aimed at investing in companies mostly in China and India with a secondary focus on Japan and Southeast Asia, exceeding its original target of US$1 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported. Jean Salata, Baring Private Equity Asia's founder, said the firm has already invested 30% and expects to invest the balance within three years. Salata expects the new fund to have a 60%-40% split between growth equity and buyouts. The fund is interested in alternative energy, media and financial services. Baring also has experience investing in the industrial sector, but is less enthusiastic about the sector's prospects at the moment, the newspaper said.