Articles by Winnie Liu
Sinarmas takes Ardent cross-border
Ardent Capital is registered in Hong Kong, but Bangkok remains its home. Previous investments by the VC firm have followed the same model – start in Thailand, then expand into other Southeast Asian markets. Now, though, Ardent is preparing to incubate...
JD Capital reaches $200m final close on second US dollar fund
Chinese GP JD Capital, formerly known as Jiuding Capital, has achieved its target of a $200 million final close on its second US dollar-denominated fund.
Google, Lightspeed lead $38m round for China's InnoLight
Google Capital, the growth-stage venture arm of Google, and Lightspeed China Partners have co-led a $38 million Series C round of funding for InnoLight Technology, a Chinese manufacturer of cloud computing optical transceivers.
Jungle Ventures commits $1.6m to Thailand fashion site
Jungle Ventures has led a $1.6 million pre-Series A round for Pomelo, a Thailand-based online fashion retailer.
Intel commits $1.5b to Tsinghua University-funded semiconductor business
Intel Corporation has agreed to invest up to RMB9 billion ($1.5 billion) for a 20% stake in Tsinghua Unigroup, owner of Chinese semiconductor makers Spreadtrum Communications and RDA Microelectronics.
Alibaba invests $458m in hotel IT software firm
Alibaba Group has bought a 15% stake in Beijing Shiji Information Technology, a Chinese hospitality information technology developer, for RMB2.81 billion ($458 million).
Shunwei invests $10m in Chinese female social networking site
Shunwei Capital Partners has committed $10 million in Series B funding to 520guimi.com, a female-focused social networking site in China.
Boyu joins Chinese consortium for $2.5b GLP investment
Boyu Capital and several Chinese strategic investors have joined a consortium that has committed $2.5 billion to Global Logistic Properties (GLP), a Singapore-listed warehouse operator.
Singapore supports med-tech accelerator program
Spring Seeds Capital, an investment arm of government-backed Spring Singapore, has launched an initiative that could channel up to S$60 million ($47 million) into local medical technology start-ups.
China’s Tiantu in $63m first close on debut US dollar fund
Chinese GP Tiantu Capital has reached a first close of $63 million on its debut US dollar-denominated fund. A final close of $100 million is targeted for before the end of the year.
KPCB leads $50m round for China video app
KPCB has led a $50 million Series C round of funding for Chinese video app Miaopai, with participation from Sina, Redpoint Ventures and StarVC, a VC firm launched by a group of Chinese celebrities.
IDG invests in Chinese mobile tech player AVOS Cloud
IDG Capital Partners has invested in a Series A round of funding for AVOS Cloud, a Chinese mobile back-end as a service (BaaS) provider. Financial terms were not disclosed.
PE-backed apparel maker La Chapelle eyes $285m HK IPO
Ladies apparel maker Shanghai La Chapelle, which is backed by a string of PE investors, plans to raise HK$2.21 billion ($285 million) through an IPO in Hong Kong.
Tencent to up stake in PE-backed China South City
Tencent Holdings will pay HK$822.5 million ($106 million) to increase its stake in China South City Holdings, a logistics center operator that counts PAG among its investors, to 11.55%.
Lightspeed leads $10m round for China P2P car-sharing site uuzuche
Lightspeed China Partners has led a $10 million Series A round of funding for uuzuche.com, a Chinese peer-to-peer (P2P) car-sharing platform.
Southeast Asia e-commerce: Logistics logjam
Southeast Asia is expected to see rapid growth in e-commerce over the next five years. But are there enough competent logistics providers to deliver the goods in a timely and cost-effective fashion?
Legend leads $50m round for China online finance site Tongbanjie
Legend Capital has led a $50 million Series B round of funding for Tongbanjie, a Chinese online finance mobile app, with participation from existing investors IDG Capital Partners and China Growth Capital.
Alibaba shares surge 38% on US trading debut
Shares in Alibaba Group soared 38.07% in their first day of trading on August 19, following a $21.8 billion IPO on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
Qiming commits $10m to China car rental platform Zuzuche
Qiming Venture Partners has invested $10 million in a Series A round of funding for Zuzuche.com, a Chinese third-party car rental platform.
China’s JD Capital offers student credit loans
China JD Capital, also known as Jiuding Capital, has set up a new fund to provide individual loans for Chinese university students.
China Haier VC, SAIF launch smart home industry fund
Qingdao Haier Venture Capital (Haier VC), a corporate VC arm of Chinese white goods maker Qingdao Haier, has teamed up with SAIF Partners to form a RMB320 million ($32 million) smart home-focused VC fund.
Xiaomi Ventures backs China health products maker
Xiaomi Ventures, a corporate VC unit of Chinese mobile phone maker Xiaomi, has paid $25 million for a 20% stake in iHealth, an offshore unit of healthcare electronics maker Andon Health.
Tencent, Morningside commit $20m in China travel site
Tencent Holdings has led a $20 million Series B round of funding for Woqu.com, a Chinese outbound travel start-up, with participation from existing investor Morningside Technologies.
Carlyle, Yunfeng to exit GDC to Huayi Brothers
The Carlyle Group and Yunfeng Capital are set to exit from GDC Technology as Huayi Brothers Media plans to acquire a controlling stake in the digital cinema equipment manufacturer.