Articles by Justin Niessner
Advantage exits China’s ESG Holdings
Advantage Partners has completed a full exit of Hong Kong-based and China-focused facility management services company ESG Holdings. It was the Japan-focused firm's first China buyout.
Token sales: Cryptic beginnings
The sale of digitized contracts known as tokens has become a dominating force in early-stage start-up funding. Venture capitalists are beginning to cautiously participate as the phenomenon matures
Mandarin acquires Italian ceramics business
Europe-Asia cross-border private equity firm Mandarin Capital Partners has acquired a 100% stake in Italian household ceramics supplier Elios Ceramica.
CLSA-backed BC Ings makes Japan education bolt-on
BC Ings, a Japanese cram school operator owned by CLSA Capital Partners (CLSA CP), has acquired local counterpart Akasaka Gakuin.
Profile: Tsing Capital's Don Ye
Don Ye, founder and managing partner for Tsing Capital, is sometimes called the ‘elder statesman’ of cleantech investment in China. Formative years in the US helped him clarify an actionable world view
India's EM3 AgriServices gets $10m Series B
EM3 AgriServices, a venture capital-backed equipment and operational support provider for the Indian farming industry, has raised a $10 million Series B funding round.
INCJ joins $4.3m round for Japan AI player
Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ) and Bank of Kochi have agreed to jointly invest JPY470 million ($4.3 million) in Japanese artificial intelligence (AI) technology developer Nextremer.
Deal focus: VCs to rebalance Indian shortcoming
Lifestyle changes due to economic development in India are impacting the country's disease patterns. Fidelity International is bringing much needed venture capital to a medical research space addressing the issue
SparkLabs launches Taiwan accelerator
US and Korea-based venture capital firm SparkLabs Global Ventures has launched an accelerator program in Taiwan that will focus on internationalizing local technology start-ups.
China's PE-backed UrWork receives $178m investment
UrWork, a Chinese co-working space operator with a number of private equity backers, has received $178 million as part of a pre-Series C funding round led by a group of strategic investors.
EDBI joins $133m round for Malaysia's Iflix
Singapore’s EDBI has joined a $133 million funding round led by US conglomerate Hearst Media for Iflix, a Malaysia-based video streaming service with a similar business model to Netflix.
VCs back Asia expansion by Japan's Sansan
Japanese cloud-based professional services company Sansan has received a fresh round of expansion funding from Mirai Creation Investment and existing backers DCM and Salesforce Ventures.
M17 Entertainment gets $40m Series A round
M17 Entertainment, a Taiwan and Singapore-based media streaming company, has raised a $40 million Series A funding round led by Japan’s Infinity Venture Partners.
India's VC-backed Mobikwik attracts $35m investment
Indian non-banking financial company (NBFC) Bajaj Finance has agreed to invest about INR2.2 billion ($35.3 million) in Mobikwik, a domestic mobile wallet developer backed by a number of venture capital firms including Sequoia Capital.
Creador invests in Malaysian bakery chain
Creador has invested MYR57 million ($13.3 million) in Bake With Yen (BWY), a Malaysian baking and confectionery ingredients supplier.
Eight Roads, F-Prime invest $25m in India's PlasmaGen
Indian biopharmaceuticals company PlasmaGen BioSciences has raised a $25 million funding round led by Eight Roads Ventures.
Japan VC: Culture club
The Cool Japan policy aims to internationalize a large but lagging economy beyond its manufacturing roots. Venture capital will be the key to reimagining unique overlaps of culture and technology
Jafco buys back $577m in shares from investors
Japanese venture capital firm Jafco has agreed to buy back JPY63.8 billion ($577.4 million) worth of shares from its major shareholders, including Nomura Holdings.
Expedia invests $350m in Indonesia's VC-backed Traveloka
Expedia has paid $350 million for an unspecified minority stake in Traveloka, an Indonesian online travel services company backed by a number of venture capital firms.
Platinum to buy Singapore electronics industry supplier
US private equity firm Platinum Equity has agreed to acquire Fischer Tech, a Singapore-based components manufacturer for the electronics industry.
Partners Group raises $7b for direct PE deals
Partners Group has achieved a close of EUR6 billion ($7 billion) on its latest direct private equity fund. It is the firm's largest fundraise to date.
Deal focus: VCs see potential in karaoke booths
Telephone booth-sized karaoke units in shopping malls are the latest penchant among China's emerging middle-class millennials. A group of VCs has invested $15 million in MiniKTV to support a nationwide roll-out
Indian healthcare services platform receives $15m Series C
Indian healthcare services platform operator 1mg Technologies has secured a $15 million Series C round led by HBM Healthcare Investments.
Singapore tech group launches $150m VC fund, incubator
Singapore-based industrial technology company ST Engineering has launched a $150 million venture capital unit and associated start-up incubator.