At DealStreetAsia, we constantly strive to keep you ahead of the curve with our exclusive news breaks, research reports, data-driven stories, cutting-edge analysis, and so much more. Let’s start the recap of this week with some inside scoops as well as announcements that confirmed our reports published weeks ago.
Argor Capital Management (formerly Go-Ventures) is set to close a $70-million continuation fund which will allow the venture firm to increase its stake in Indonesia-based aquatech startup eFishery.
Southeast Asian alternative asset manager Indies Capital Partners has raised more than $200 million so far for its fourth credit fund, which is expected to hit the final close in 2025. The firm is also said to have finalised an investment in Indonesia’s largest healthcare provider, Siloam International Hospitals.
Quadria Capital-backed Maxivision Super Speciality Eye Hospitals is in talks to acquire a controlling stake in Smart Vision Eye Speciality, according to multiple sources privy to the development.
Indonesian conglomerate Djarum Group is said to be acquiring up to 85% stake in PT Griya MieSejati, which operates Indonesia’s oldest noodle restaurant chain Bakmi GM, for around 2-2.4 trillion rupiah ($126-151 million), according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.
Vietnam agritech startup Techcoop has raised a $70-million Series A funding round in a mix of equity and debt led by existing investors TNB Aura and Ascend Vietnam Ventures, DealStreetAsia has learnt.
Global proptech company Lamudi has announced the acquisition of its Indonesian peer Ideal.id. No deal size was disclosed. This confirms a DealStreetAsia report in early October on the discussions between the firms.
Bain Capital plans to invest $157 million in PT Sejahteraraya Anugrahjaya Tbk, the parent company of Indonesia’s Mayapada Hospital. DealStreetAsia had in June reported that Mayapada Hospital was looking to raise external funding.
LP-GP updates
Singapore’s state investment company Temasek has established a wholly-owned private credit entity with an initial portfolio of S$10 billion ($7.5 billion) comprising direct investments and credit funds.
Quadria Capital, one of Asia’s largest healthcare-focused private equity (PE) firms, is understood to have extended the deadline for the final close of its Asia healthcare fund by three months to March 31, 2025.
The Japanese PE market has been attractive for a while to investors looking for steady returns from high-quality, large-scale businesses amid a favourable financing environment, opportunities from succession planning, and low corporate valuations. But investors in Japan still face several challenges such as slowing growth and a limited talent pool.
From jammed deal pipelines, LPs queuing up to snap up their share in China-focused mega funds, and overall booming growth, the Chinese PE-VC industry has undergone a marked change. Now, some of the same GPs find themselves with only a handful of deals in their pipeline every month, looking to allocate more and more capital abroad while coming to terms with smaller fund sizes that are predominantly backed by state-affiliated LPs.
BlackRock will buy private credit firm HPS Investment Partners for about $12 billion in an all-stock deal as the world’s largest asset manager seeks to expand in a red-hot market.
Investment firm Stonepeak has launched an infrastructure fund targeting individuals with at least $5 million in investments as PE firms expand their fundraising efforts beyond institutional investors.
Blue Earth Capital, a Switzerland-based impact investor, has secured $113 million in commitments in the first close of its inaugural, evergreen, semi-liquid impact private credit fund.
Sweden’s EQT has invested more than its targeted $5 billion in India over the last few years, the head of its Asian business said, as the private equity firm focuses on buyouts and investments in the country where it is sees strong deal activity.
Property investment manager Nuveen has raised over A$400 million (about $257 million) in the first close of its first commingled Australian commercial real estate debt strategy.
Deals and other news
Hong Kong-listed ESR Group has received an offer from a consortium, including Starwood Capital Group and Warburg Pincus, to take it private in a deal valued at HK$55.19 billion ($7.09 billion).
Living Lab Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of Sinar Mas Land, has invested an undisclosed amount in Australian hospitality startup Liven, which plans to use the funds to expand in Southeast Asia, including Indonesia.
Chinese beauty brand Mao Geping Cosmetics, led by one of the country’s most famous make-up artists, is aiming to raise up to $270 million in a Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO), according to its regulatory filings.
After raking in nearly $2 billion in profits from the IPO of Indian food delivery firm Swiggy, Dutch technology investor Prosus expects more portfolio companies in the South Asian nation to hit the bourse in the next 18 months.
Hong Kong telecommunications company HKBN said it has received a rival non-binding indication from PE firm I Squared Capital for a possible takeover.
International Finance Corporation (IFC) is weighing an investment of up to $20 million in Indian fintech firm Epimoney Private Limited (Flexiloans), according to a disclosure. IFC is also mulling an investment of $10 million in Sunshine Healthcare, the second-largest importer of pharma and medical devices in Sri Lanka.
KPay Group, a financial management and business operations platform, has bagged $55 million in its first institutional funding round led by UK-based PE asset manager Apis Partners.
Vietnamese retailer FPT Retail is understood to be planning a minority stake sale in its wholly-owned subsidiary FPT Long Chau Pharma. Over the past few months, FPT Retail has been in talks with potential suitors, including PE firms, for the deal, which could be worth $100-150 million.
DEG, the investment arm of German state-owned development bank KfW, has committed to invest €25 million ($26.3 million) in Indian microfinance lender CreditAccess Grameen Limited, according to a disclosure.
Taiwanese travel e-commerce platform KKday has secured around $70 million in a financial round that saw participation from several new and existing investors.
Chinese digital supply chain solutions provider FLUX has secured 300 million yuan ($41.2 million) in a fresh funding round led by MPC, previously known as Matrix Partners China.
British International Investment (BII) has announced new commitments of $33.5 million to India’s electric vehicle sector, which will help boost technological innovation and job creation in the EV ecosystem.
Malaysia-based Bintang Capital Partners has invested an undisclosed sum in The Flow Studio, a yoga and reformer pilates studio.
Deep dives
Some 137 million Indonesians — about two-thirds of the population aged over 15 — held a combined 66 trillion rupiah in outstanding debt through digital lending platforms as of the end of September, according to Indonesia’s Financial Services Authority (OJK). In response to the growing debt crisis, OJK has capped the interest rate for digital lending at 0.3% per day, or 108% annually.
As government support has been pivotal in the meteoric rise of new-energy vehicles in China, some traditional carmakers are complaining that they aren’t competing on a level playing field with their NEV counterparts.
Hong Kong is increasingly witnessing many local family offices tap into impact investments. As the sector matures, these family offices are increasingly diversifying their impact investing portfolio and adopting de-risk mechanisms like blended finance.
As global supply chains are braced for disruption following Donald Trump’s re-election, China’s chipmakers are speeding up efforts to expand production abroad to avoid potential trade barriers. And Malaysia, with its strategic location and robust infrastructure, is becoming a popular destination.
Following the latest Adani crisis, foreign investors are rethinking their appetite for corporate governance risk in Indian investments, while lawmakers and authorities are set to investigate whether the conglomerate is guilty of other misdeeds, raising concerns that the shock waves from the current crisis may linger.
As China’s livestream shopping industry grapples with slowing growth, a series of product quality scandals have exposed regulatory loopholes that rocked a sector once hailed as the future of retail.
In signs of a reversal in sentiment, investors in Greater China ploughed 21% more capital in large deals valued at $100 million or more in the first nine months of this year. Startups headquartered in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macau closed 58 megadeals from January through September 2024, raising $28.7 billion in total, according to DealStreetAsia’s Greater China Deal Review: Q3 2024 report.
Indian food delivery giant Swiggy posted a narrower loss in the September quarter—its first earnings since going public last month—buoyed by growing demand across its food delivery and quick commerce segments.
Concerns over its labour policies and product quality failed to stymie online fast fashion retailer Shein’s growth last year. Recent regulatory filings in Singapore, where the company is headquartered, show it more than doubled its net profit to $1.3 billion in 2023.
With fierce competition cutting into profits at home, Chinese battery companies have been eager to enter Europe’s vast auto market. Growing EV sales in recent years have expanded Europe’s demand for lithium batteries, making it China’s largest export market for the product.
Private healthcare and education had a robust year in India and Southeast Asia in 2024. Moving into 2025, investors are bullish that the interest will persist thanks to strong, sustaining tailwinds.
Chinese online retailers Temu and Shein have suspended their operations in Vietnam as the companies work to register their e-commerce services with the Southeast Asian nation’s authorities.
India’s nascent deeptech sector, riding high on advancements in artificial intelligence, robotics, drones, and other cutting-edge technologies, is facing a strange conundrum. While early-stage funding in the space has gained significant traction, late-stage capital remains sparse, creating challenges for both startups seeking to scale and investors eyeing returns.
As consumer demand plumbs the depths of a post-pandemic slump in China, the country’s e-commerce platforms are bending over backwards for customers. But what’s good for buyers has turned into a nightmare for sellers, as two major consumer-friendly policies have given rise to a swathe of scams that they are mostly powerless to combat.
Interviews
Southeast Asia and India remain challenging markets for private equity as they are still developing and have limited availability of vintage funds, according to senior executives at Switzerland-based Pictet Alternatives Advisors. However, a growing cohort of specialised healthcare players in the region are nearing their third or fourth fund vintage, signalling gradual progress, they added.
Sovereign wealth fund Indonesia Investment Authority (INA) plans to diversify its investment focus in the coming year to support the country’s ambitious economic growth targets.
Singapore-based Cross Capital aims to be “an open innovation infrastructure for Japan” with its first fund-of-funds, which seeks to connect Japanese limited partners with technology markets around the globe, said co-founder and CEO Takaki Nakamura.
Impact investing is emerging as a lower-risk alternative to traditional PE, challenging long-held perceptions about its risk profile, stated Andrew Kuper, CEO and founder of LeapFrog Investments.
There are plenty of opportunities for Khazanah to back venture capital players in the current environment, said Bryan Lim, CEO of Jelawang Capital, the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund’s new fund-of-funds operator.
The entrepreneurial ecosystem in India is at an interesting threshold. With 2024 drawing to a close, Pranav Pai, founding partner at early-stage investment firm 3one4 Capital, said he expects a renewed surge of confidence and growth in founder teams.
Transactions with stablecoins backed by local currencies will be the way to mass adoption of blockchain technology in Southeast Asia, said Jesse Pollak, founder of Base and head of Coinbase Wallet.
