AVCJ

Weekly digest - September 22 2021

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  • Rana Tang
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22 September 2021
ESG BEST PRACTICE: GLOBAL TO GRANULAR
COVER STORY
The PE playbook on ESG converts marginal gains into big picture policy wins – if GPs focus on the right areas and information flows aren't stymied.
TALKING POINTS
AVCJ AWARDS 2021: 6 DAYS AND COUNTING
Nominations for the 2021 AVCJ Private Equity & Venture Capital Awards will close on September 28, following an extension to the deadline. There will be no further extensions. For more information, go to: www.avcjforum.com/awards.
TALKING POINTS
BEYOND BEIJING
China’s technology sector is still clouded by uncertainty, with early and growth-stage investment of $7.3 billion since July, compared to $8.4 billion in the second quarter and $14.7 billion in the first. The rest of Asia is going in the other direction, from $8.8 billion to $16.7 billion to $25.4 billion. Meanwhile, in the past seven days alone…

Vertiginous valuations
  • Canva, Australia: $200m round at $40b valuation ($15b five months ago)
  • MPL, India: $150m round at $2.3b valuation ($945m seven months ago)
  • SmartNews, Japan: $230m round at $2b valuation ($1.1b 22 months ago)
  • Cars24, India: $450m round at $1.84b valuation ($1b 10 months ago)
  • Apna, India: $100m round at $1.1b valuation ($570m three months ago)
Unicorn club inductees (in addition to MPL and Apna)
  • Carousell, Singapore: $100m round at $1.1b valuation
  • Xendit, Indonesia: $150m round at $1b valuation
Looming SaaS payday (which may propel valuations in the space even higher)
  • Freshworks, India: targeting $912m IPO at $9b market capitalization; most recently valued at $3.5b
LP INTERVIEW
JAPAN INVESTMENT CORPORATION
JAPAN INVESTMENT CORPORATIONJapan Investment Corporation aims to help a sparse venture capital market catch up with a slightly more mature buyout space. Balancing private and public interests remains the key challenge.
DEAL FOCUS
DEEPROUTE FOUNDER JUMPS AT SECOND CHANCE
DEEPROUTE FOUNDER JUMPS AT SECOND CHANCEDeeproute.ai has risen from the ashes of China-based autonomous driving specialist Roadstar.ai, backed by some of the same investors. Now Alibaba Group has given the company its endorsement.
FUND FOCUS
LEVER LEVERAGES SPIKING FOOD TECH APPETITE
LEVER LEVERAGES SPIKING FOOD TECH APPETITEThe debut fund from Hong Kong’s Lever VC has tapped an infection point in global demand for food innovation. A mix of motivators for entering this space make the hype feel less like a bubble.
DEAL FOCUS
VISION FUND BETS ON CHINA SERVICE ROBOTS
VISION FUND BETS ON CHINA SERVICE ROBOTSCOVID-19 crippled demand for restaurant service robots, so China’s Keenon Robotics pivoted towards hospitals. It has $200 million in Series D funding to target new application scenarios.
SEEN AND HEARD
MONEY TALKS
Investment professionals at regional funds reported higher median base compensation in 2021 than did their peers at global funds, according to a Heidrick & Struggles' Asia Pacific compensation survey. But total cash compensation is higher at the global funds.
SEEN AND HEARD
ASIAN APPEAL
Pragmatic fund structures and attractive tax and setup incentives are convincing an increasing number of private capital fund managers to domicile in Hong Kong and Singapore, according to Allen & Overy.
For your calendar
UPCOMING EVENTS
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