Equity Investment, including private equity investment (PE) and equity investment, is an act of investing and buying equity of an enterprise in order to participate in or control its business activities. It can occur in the publicly traded market, when a company is initiated or established, and when shares are transferred privately. Private equity is not only a financial tool, but also a form of equity expression after investment and financing.

Private equity is homogeneous with corporate bonds, loans and stocks. But its essential characteristics (differences) mainly lie in:

First, private equity (PE) is not a debt-based financial instrument, similar to stocks, and is essentially different from corporate bonds and loans.

Secondly, private equity (PE) belongs to private equity in financing mode, which is similar to loans and is essentially different from corporate bonds and stocks.

Third, private equity (PE) is mainly the rights and interests generated by investing in enterprises that have not yet been IPO (initial public offering);

Fourth, private equity (PE) cannot be traded freely in the stock market;

Fifth, other omissions. From a legal point of view, private equity (PE) does not reflect the relationship between creditor's rights and debts. It is essentially different from debt.

In a word, private equity is a kind of equity, which can not only play the financing function, but also represent the investment right.