UPDATE 3-Warburg Pincus names Asia real estate chief Perlman as president

(Adds more information about Perlman's new role and the company)

By Kane Wu

July 20 (Reuters) -

Private equity firm Warburg Pincus on Wednesday named its Asia head of real estate Jeffrey Perlman as successor to Timothy Geithner as president.

Geithner, who was U.S. Treasury Secretary in the Obama administration and had headed the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, will become the chair of the New York-based investment firm.

"Now is the ideal time to put in place a plan for the next generation of leadership at the firm," Warburg CEO Chip Kaye said.

Perlman's new role is part of the firm's succession planning to eventually replace Kaye, said a person with direct knowledge of the matter

A Warburg Pincus spokesperson said Perlman will continue with his responsibilities in Asia and remain a critical part of the firm’s real estate investment team while spending a meaningful amount of time in Asia.

The appointment of 40-year-old Perlman, who has been with Warburg for the last 17 years, comes at a crucial time for private equity funds as they seek new strategies in the current interest rate cycle.

Expectations that the Fed is done with the bulk of its rate hikes have led to a rebound in startup investments, but worries about a potential downturn later in the year are still weighing on sentiment.

Warburg Pincus has already raised more than the targeted $16 billion in its global flagship private equity fund, said a person with knowledge of the matter.

Warburg Pincus began raising 3 billion yuan ($439 million) in its maiden yuan-denominated fund, Reuters

reported

in February, joining a growing list of private equity investors eyeing local currency investment opportunities in China.

In April, Warburg Pincus received Chinese

regulatory approval

to buy a 23.3% stake in Zhong Ou Asset Management Co, as the firm moved to expands its foothold in China's $3.8 trillion mutual fund market

Perlman, who is currently the head of Southeast Asia and Asia-Pacific real estate, is also a board member of several real-estate focused companies including ESR Group Limited and BW Industrial Development JSC.

Founded in 1996, Warburg has more than $83 billion in assets under management and its portfolio spans more than 250 companies. (Reporting by Pritam Biswas and Niket Nishant in Bengaluru and Kane Wu in Hong Kong; Editing by Arun Koyyur and Lincoln Feast)