IFC proposes $25m investment in CompareAsiaGroup

IFC will invest both from its own account and through IFC Asset Management, which comprises third-party capital managed by the group. According to a disclosure, CompareAsiaGroup will use the new capital to support marketing efforts to build brand recognition, along with expansion of its marketing and product teams across Southeast Asia. It will also invest in improvements to its technology platform.

CompareAsiaGroup operates in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia. It allows consumers to compare various financial products, including insurance, credit cards and personal loans, offered by a range of financial institutions to which it charges fees to list on the platform.

The company was started in 2014 by Gerald Eder, co-founder of Rocket Internet-backed Southeast Asian online retailer Zalora, with support from Nova Founders Capital, an early-stage investment firm also started by Rocket alumni. Last year Goldman Sachs led a $40 million round for the company in which Nova, Jardine Pacific, ACE & Company and Route 66 Ventures also participated. Earlier this year former KKR executive Sam Allen joined CompareAsiaGroup as its CEO.

Other Southeast Asia-focused financial comparison sites to receive PE and strategic backing include Malaysia's iMoney, which raised a $2 million Series A round led by Jungle Ventures in 2013 and a MYR13 million ($4 million) investment in 2014 from Australia-based insurance comparison service iSelect.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Southeast Asia
• Financials
• Technology
• Early-stage
• Hong Kong (China)
• Financial Services
• TMT
• IFC