Despite recent signs of a slowdown in China’s economic growth and the continuing uncertainties of the eurozone crisis, analysis from PwC shows there has been a steady rise in the value and volume of mainland Chinese investments in Europe over the last six years, increasing from just 11 deals in 2006 to 61 in 2011.

In the month's Infrastructure Spotlight, Preqin explores the concerns of investors currently investing in infrastructure, examining: what investors are looking for in the asset class; what are investors' key concerns; and how infrastructure strategies have performed against other private equity strategies.

In this issue of PE Digest, Deal Market puts the spotlight on the decline in M&A deal-making in Q3, an improvement in market conditions leading to a wave of IPOs in  October 2012, and observes that the week's two largest buyouts occured in Europe, an encouraging sign amid a climate of economic uncertainty in the region.

Preqin's IPO pipeline data reveals that, as of 15th October, 19 private equity- and venture capital-backed companies have completed their IPOs or follow-on share sales during the month, raising USD 4bn. This is in marked contrast to the whole of Q3 2012, when USD 6.5bn was raised in public offerings during the whole quarter, indicating that Q4 2012 could see a rebound in IPO activity globally.

The Preqin Special Report: Hedge Funds takes an in-depth look at the hedge fund marketplace and, using information from Preqin's new Hedge Fund Analyst product examines funds currently seeking institutional capital, including locations and strategies, fund launches in 2012 and the recent performance of hedge funds.