<article>Let me begin the weekly wrap-up with one of our most recent stories.</article>

Let me begin the weekly wrap-up with one of our most recent stories.
Late Friday, Saudi Arabia&#8217;s communications and IT minister Abdullah Al-Swaha said the Gulf Kingdom plans to <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/saudi-arabia-indonesia-fund-306427">launch a joint fund</a> with Indonesia-focused venture capital firms to back later-stage startups in the Southeast Asian country.
The announcement followed the minister&#8217;s closed-door meeting with the co-founders and CEOs of Indonesian unicorns Blibli.com, Ajaib, Xendit, J&amp;T Express, and Kopi Kenangan.
Let&#8217;s look at what else happened during the week.
<h3>LP-GP news</h3>
International Finance Corporation (IFC) is <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/ifc-lighthouse-india-fund-306085">considering an investment</a> of up to $50 million in the latest private equity vehicle of India&#8217;s Lighthouse Funds.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/adb-vinfast-true-north-fund-305914">approved a $50 million commitment</a> to the latest fund of one of India&#8217;s oldest private equity firms, True North.
Taiwan Life, which is part of CTBC Financial Holdings, <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/taiwan-life-oak-hill-capital-305903">approved a commitment</a> of up to $10 million to Oak Hill Capital Partners VI (Offshore), the sixth flagship buyout fund of New York firm Oak Hill Capital.
Malaysia-based COPE Private Equity plans to <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/cope-pe-fifth-fund-305811">launch a new fund next year</a> as it expects to finish deploying its fourth vehicle by Q1 2023. The firm is currently investing out of COPE 1, an evergreen fund, and closed-ended fund COPE IV.
Hong Kong-based SC Lowy has <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/hk-based-sc-lowy-raises-450m-to-double-down-on-apacs-special-situations-deals-306332">closed its latest direct lending fund</a> at $350 million, alongside $100 million in a parallel co-investment managed account, to double down on Asia-Pacific’s special situations opportunities.
Singapore-based Vickers Venture Partners has <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/vickers-venture-fund-vi-4-305657">closed its sixth fund</a> at $260 million, roughly half its original target of $500 million. The fund close comes amid a sluggish fundraising environment, especially after the global public markets began to turn at the start of 2022.
Singapore-based PE firm Heritas Capital has <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/heritas-capital-impact-fund-305504">launched a $50-million impact fund</a> to back innovative and high-growth social enterprises across Asia.
Merak Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm, has <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/indias-merak-ventures-launches-100m-fund-to-invest-in-18-20-early-stage-startups-305642">launched a new fund</a> with a target corpus of $100 million to invest in Indian startups.
An increase in the number of funds currently in the market and an uptick in interim closes in H1 2022 suggest that 2022 could be a robust year for venture capital (VC) fundraising in Southeast Asia. As on June 30, there were <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/sea-vc-funds-in-the-market-h1-2022-305835">90 SE Asia-based VC funds</a> on the fundraising trail.
<h3>Funding updates</h3>
Chinese internet giant Alibaba has <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/alibaba-pours-913m-into-lazada-southeast-asia-making-it-1-3b-so-far-this-year-306059">invested $912.5 million</a> into its Southeast Asian e-commerce arm Lazada, bringing its total capital infusion into the latter this year to $1.3 billion.
Southeast Asian recruitment platform Glints <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/se-asian-career-platform-glints-bags-50m-in-series-d-round-305760">bagged $50 million</a> in a Series D round co-led by DCM Ventures, Lavender Hill Capital and existing investor PERSOL Holdings.
Singapore-based blockchain remittance firm Lightnet Group <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/lightnet-lda-capital-305759">secured $50 million</a> from alternative investment group LDA Capital. The capital will be used to grow Lightnet’s infrastructure, operations and team.
Indonesian restaurant tech startup Esensi Solusi Buana, better known as ESB, <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/indonesia-esb-new-round-305610">secured $29 million</a> in a Series B round from various investors, including Northstar Group and Alpha JWC Ventures.
Vietnamese edtech startup VUIHOC <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/vuihoc-pre-series-a-bace-capital-305566">raised $2 million</a> in a pre-Series A funding round led by venture capital firm BAce Capital.
Pakistan-based e-commerce platform PriceOye <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/being-edited-pakistans-consumer-electronic-marketplace-priceoye-pk-raises-7-9m-in-seed-funding-305797">raised $7.9 million</a> in a seed funding round led by US-based JAM Fund and backed by investors including PayPal founder Peter Thiel.
Chinese firm Bao Pharmaceuticals <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/bao-pharma-closes-series-b-305631">bagged over $100 million</a> in a Series B round of financing led by Oriental Fortune Capital to ramp up its efforts to develop and commercialise recombinant protein drugs and antibody drugs.
Indian fintech startup EarlySalary announced <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/indias-earlysalary-raises-110m-from-tpgs-rise-fund-and-norwest-venture-partners-305782">raising $110 million</a> from TPG’s Rise Fund and Norwest Venture Partners.
At a time when garnering growth capital has become a challenge for bigger companies, there has been <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/early-stage-deals-india-305822">a boom in early-stage startup funding in India</a>. Funding across pre-seed and seed deals increased 90% to touch $596 million in Jan-July 2022 compared with the same period last year, according to data compiled by DealStreetAsia.
<h3>Other news</h3>
Singapore-based used car marketplace Carro <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/carro-profitable-year-fy22-306129">recorded its first profitable year</a> so far, achieving more than S$650 million ($464 million) in revenue and doubling its gross profit in the year ending March 2022.
Alibaba-owned Lazada has <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/lazada-picks-up-stake-in-indonesian-telecom-operator-smartfren-306298">picked up a stake</a> in PT Smartfren Telecom, part of the Sinar Mas Group, a top executive at the Indonesia-listed telecom operator told DealStreetAsia.
Warburg Pincus-backed Aseana Insurance <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/aseana-buys-indonesias-abda-306376">has acquired</a> Indonesian general insurer Asuransi Bina Dana Arta (ABDA) for $59.5 million.
Pakistani fintech and logistics startup PostEx <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/pakistan-postex-buys-call-courier-305739">has bought </a>local logistics service provider Call Courier to tap into the country’s e-commerce sector, which is projected to grow to $12 billion by 2025.
<h3>GoTo makes headlines</h3>
Indonesia’s largest tech firm GoTo <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/goto-losses-widden-h1-2022-305828" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/goto-losses-widden-h1-2022-305828">reported wider losses</a> in the first half of 2022, despite a 49% year-on-year growth in gross revenue. Its losses in the January-June period of 2022 stood at 13.64 trillion rupiah ($920 million), up 117% from 6.28 trillion rupiah in the same period last year. The news sent its <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/shares-in-goto-tumble-h1-loss-305998" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/shares-in-goto-tumble-h1-loss-305998">shares tumbling</a>.
On its earnings call, the company said it hopes to <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/goto-ecosystem-profitability-305732" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/goto-ecosystem-profitability-305732">accelerate its path to profitability</a> on the back of a better cost structure and scaling up its ecosystem play.
The company, which is understood to be in talks to <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/goto-1-billion-convertible-bonds-305851" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/goto-1-billion-convertible-bonds-305851">raise about $1 billion</a> through a convertible bond issue, <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/indonesias-goto-acquires-local-crypto-exchange-in-8-3m-deal-305691" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/indonesias-goto-acquires-local-crypto-exchange-in-8-3m-deal-305691">announced the acquisition</a> of local crypto exchange PT Kripto Maksima Koin for 124.8 billion rupiah ($8.3 million) this week.
<h3>Going public</h3>
PT VKTR Teknologi Mobilitas Indonesia, a unit of the Indonesian conglomerate PT Bakrie &amp; Brothers, is looking to <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/bakrie-arm-vktr-aims-for-45m-ipo-305661">raise $45 million</a> through a listing on the local stock exchange in November 2022.
Djarum-backed online travel agent Tiket.com’s initial public offering on the Indonesian Stock Exchange (IDX) has been <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/tiket-com-ipo-pushed-back-306176">pushed back further</a> but is “definitely happening this year,&#8221; said a top executive.
AI-based predictive maintenance software firm Avanseus has <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/avanseus-fat-projects-spac-305752">agreed to merge</a> with Nasdaq-listed blank cheque firm Fat Projects Acquisition Corp. The deal would give Avanseus a pro forma enterprise value of approximately $135.7 million.
<h3>Crypto news</h3>
An executive of Thai crypto exchange Bitkub has been <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/bitkub-executive-insider-trading-306069" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/bitkub-executive-insider-trading-306069">fined for insider trading</a> related to a failed acquisition by the country’s oldest bank. The Securities and Exchange Commission said it would fine Samret Wajanasathian 8.53 million baht ($234,481) and bar him from serving as chief technology officer of Bitkub Blockchain Technology, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bitkub, for 12 months.
The Indonesian government is set to <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/indonesia-roll-out-crypto-bourse-306036" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/indonesia-roll-out-crypto-bourse-306036">launch a crypto bourse</a> by the end of 2022 as part of efforts to protect consumers amid rising interest in digital currencies.
Thailand’s second-largest digital asset exchange Zipmex has been <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/zipmex-fined-by-thai-regulators-306200" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/zipmex-fined-by-thai-regulators-306200">fined a total of 1.92 million baht </a>($52,244) by the country’s Securities and Exchange Commission.
<h3>The inside story</h3>
Asian food delivery platform Foodpanda is <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/foodpanda-cutting-jobs-in-se-asia-306334">laying off staff</a> across Southeast Asian markets, including the Philippines, Thailand and Singapore, we reported this week. The company later confirmed the development, attributing it to the need to cut costs and inch closer to profitability.
Meanwhile, in India, the government has sprung into action and started <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/chinese-investments-in-india-under-scrutiny-306061">sending notices to startups</a> that have raised funding through backdoor channels from Chinese investors despite its restrictions.
<h3>The place to be</h3>
With global investors diversifying their portfolios against a backdrop of uncertainty and challenges in China – the largest market in Asia – Southeast Asia should see more private capital allocations, said Soo Yar-Ping, a partner at Adams Street Partners, in <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/the-lp-view-adams-street-partners-305872">an interview</a>.
Soo will be joining other leading executives from the private equity and venture capital world to talk at length about Southeast Asia&#8217;s position as an investment destination amid the ongoing global uncertainty at DealStreetAsia&#8217;s <a href="https://events.dealstreetasia.com/sg2022/">Asia PE-VC Summit 2022</a> (Sept 27-28). Have you booked your tickets yet?

Indonesian tech major GoTo made headlines this week with its H1 earnings, plans to accelerate its path to profitability, and fundraising buzz.

Editor's take: The week that was — Aug 29-Sep 3

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Editor's take: The week that was — Aug 29-Sep 3

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