Articles by Justin Niessner
GIC, Norfund invest Myanmar's Yoma Bank
Singapore’s GIC Private and Norway’s Norfund have acquired a combined 30% stake in Myanmar-based Yoma Bank for MMK130 billion ($88.7 million).
Australia's Five V makes another BPO bolt-on
Australia’s Five V Capital has acquired Philippines business process outsourcing (BPO) player Beepo as a portfolio company bolt-on. It is the GP’s second such transaction this month.
China-US tensions: Adapting to malaise
China would suffer the most immediate impact of a technology decoupling with the US, but both sides would be damaged in the long-term in the absence of remedial action
MasterCard invests India payments player Pine Labs
MasterCard has invested an undisclosed sum in Pine Labs, an Indian payments technology provider backed by PayPal, Temasek Holdings, and Sequoia Capital India.
Navegar backs Philippines e-commerce enabler
Philippines private equity firm Navegar has invested $12 million in local online retail industry services provider Great Deals E-commerce.
AVCJ Awards 2019: Responsible Investment: Organica
SEAF’s commitment to a farm-to-shop natural foods retailer highlights the idea that even sustainability-focused businesses may have room for improvement beneath the surface
AVCJ Awards 2019: Fundraising of the Year - Venture Capital: A91 Partners
A91 Partners’ spinout from Sequoia Capital showcases the deepening networks of the Indian VC space and hints that more ecosystem growth is yet to come
BGH offers $536m for Australia media group
Australian private equity firm BGH Capital has offered to acquire 100% of Village Roadshow in a deal that values the Sydney-listed media group at around A$783 million ($536 million).
Japan's J-Star agrees IT jobs platform acquisition
Japanese private equity firm J-Star has agreed to acquire Gino, a local IT industry job search platform, for an undisclosed sum.
Japanese professional services marketplace raises $36m
Japanese start-up Minma, which operates P2P jobs and services marketplace Curama, has raised a JPY4 billion ($36.5 million) Series C round led by Nissay Capital, the VC unit of Nippon Life Insurance.
Vietnam's Mekong appoints new partner
Vietnam-based Mekong Capital has named Nguyen Thi Minh Giang (pictured, third right) as a partner with responsibility for talent and culture. It brings the number of partners at the firm to four.
MassMutual establishes second VC fund for Southeast Asia
US-based Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) has established a second venture capital fund for Southeast Asia with a corpus of $100 million.
India EV: On a roll
India’s electric vehicle space is nascent but growing rapidly on the back of a concerted policy push. Investors see enormous potential, especially in the world’s largest two-wheeler segment
China's Danke raises $130m in scaled back IPO
Chinese apartment rental platform Danke raised about $130 million in a smaller-than-expected US IPO that was primarily underwritten by existing private equity investors.
China's I-Mab falls on US debut after $104m IPO
China-based I-Mab Biopharma traded as much as 12% lower than initial pricing following the private equity-backed company’s $104 million IPO in the US.
AVCJ Awards 2019: Exit of the Year - Small Cap: Gong Cha
Unison Capital took a Korean game plan global with the Gong Cha bubble tea chain. Attention to local tastes, however, was the key to the enterprise
Fund focus: Korea’s midcap buyout space comes into focus
VIG Partners believes its recent $810 million fundraise validates the firm's middle-market strategy and spur the emergence of new domestic GPs in this area
BlackRock backs Australia hotel booking platform SiteMinder
BlackRock has made an equity investment in Australia-based hotel booking platform SiteMinder that values the company at about A$1.1 billion ($760 million).
Q&A: AI Fund's Andrew Ng
After establishing artificial intelligence units for Google and Baidu, Andrew Ng famously declared AI “the new electricity” and launched AI Fund, an incubator with a $175 million war chest
Accel-KKR invests Australia workforce software player
Accel-KKR, a US-based private equity firm created by Accel Partners and KKR, has invested A$28 million ($19.3 million) in Australian workforce management software provider Pegasus.
Indonesia's Waresix lifts Series A to $25.5m
Indonesia trucking and warehousing platform operator Waresix has closed an extended Series A round at $25.5 million following new contributions from EV Growth and Jungle Ventures.
EMR-backed consortium acquires Australian gold mine
A consortium backed by mining-focused GP EMR Capital and Singapore’s Golden Energy & Resources has agreed to acquire an Australian gold mine in a deal worth up to A$300 million ($207 million).
Australia's AMP Capital closes global infra fund at $3.4b
Australia’s AMP Capital has closed its latest global infrastructure fund with $3.4 billion in commitments. The target was $3 billion.
Goldman Sachs, SK back Korea cold chain play
Goldman Sachs and SK Group have committed a combined KRW50 billion ($43 million) to a Korean expansion by cold chain logistics operator Belstar Superfreeze.