(Yicai Global) Dec. 20 -- American private equity firm Warburg Pincus LLC has raised USD2.3 billion for its new financial services fund, beating its USD1.6-billion target as it looks to invest in China's consumer finance, asset management and fintech sectors.

The investment firm will keep a close eye on investment opportunities in automotive and property financial assets, Ben Zhou, head of financial services investment of Warburg Pincus China, told Yicai Global.

Warburg Pincus will also pay attention to virtual currencies, but has no plans to invest in them, Zhou added. The company did not participate in this year's wave of initial public offerings by China's online finance firms, which he said was due to the company being cautious as it moves into the field.

Most of China's debt comes from mortgages, but consumer credit is on the rise. The desire to spend more money has seen an array of fintech companies setting up shop over the past 18 months and four of them going public in the US this year, although their questionable business ethics have seen sharp declines in their stock prices.