Orchid Asia Group Management has closed its third fund, Orchid Asia III, LP, raising more than US$180 million in capital commitments from institutions and high net worth families from Europe, Asia, the US and the Middle East.

"We are very pleased with the strong support from our existing investors as well as our new investors for our firm, and our team will work very hard to invest the capital wisely in backing excellent operating executives to build high quality franchises in China," says Gabriel Li, managing director of Orchid Asia.

With offices in Hong Kong, Shanghai and San Francisco, Orchid Asia has been investing in China for over 10 years and is one of the first international private equity investors in China. Orchid Asia led the first round investment for Ctrip.com, which returned over 20 times the initial investment.

The firm has also invested in non-listed Chinese companies like Yaolan.com and Zhaopin.com.