SSIAM, Daiwa hit first close on Vietnam fund
Hanoi-based SSI Asset Management (SSIAM) and Japan’s Daiwa Securities Group have reached a first close of undisclosed size on their third joint Vietnam private equity fund. The target is $100 million.
Daiwa-SSIAM Fund III aimed for a first close of $30-40 million when it went to market in February. Its predecessor closed slightly above target at about $40 million in 2016. The investors’ first vehicle in the series, DSCAP-SSIAM Vietnam Investment Growth Fund, raised about $28 million in 2009. Daiwa has historically acted as an LP.
The new fund will write checks up to $10 million primarily for unlisted companies, taking minority stakes of 10-30% and seeking board representation. There will be a focus on consumer-related goods and services as well as export-oriented segments with room to expansion locally. Logistics, healthcare, education, and media are all of interest. Some deals are expected to be sourced from state-owned enterprises making divestments.
The first Daiwa-SSIAM fund has exited all five of its investee companies, generating a 2.8x multiple and a gross IRR of 38%. Fund II has backed seven companies and is currently in the post-investment and divestment phase. Its portfolio includes OnPoint, an e-commerce support services provider founded by former executives at Lazada that raised $8 million earlier this year.
SSIAM is part of SSI Securities Corporation, which is backed by Daiwa. The firm is also targeting private equity opportunities in Vietnam via the SSIAM-DBJ-CP Vietnam Growth Investment Fund, which launched earlier this year. SSIAM-DBJ-CP, which brings together Development Bank of Japan and CP Group, concentrates on larger companies, writing checks of $10-20 million.
“Vietnam has consistently been one of the fastest-growing economies in the world and the region’s top FDI destination,” SSIAM said in a statement. “Healthy twin account surpluses with increasing foreign exchange reserves, improving local banking sector with stable interest rate and inflation, provide Vietnam macroeconomic stability and a stronger local currency. Extremely fast urbanization, a growing middle class and increasing disposable income are expected to drive strong growth in consumer-related industries.”
More on Southeast Asia
Latest News
Asian GPs slow implementation of ESG policies - survey
Asia-based private equity firms are assigning more dedicated resources to environment, social, and governance (ESG) programmes, but policy changes have slowed in the past 12 months, in part due to concerns raised internally and by LPs, according to a...
Singapore fintech start-up LXA gets $10m seed round
New Enterprise Associates (NEA) has led a USD 10m seed round for Singapore’s LXA, a financial technology start-up launched by a former Asia senior executive at The Blackstone Group.
India's InCred announces $60m round, claims unicorn status
Indian non-bank lender InCred Financial Services said it has received INR 5bn (USD 60m) at a valuation of at least USD 1bn from unnamed investors including “a global private equity fund.”
Insight leads $50m round for Australia's Roller
Insight Partners has led a USD 50m round for Australia’s Roller, a venue management software provider specializing in family fun parks.