Funds
Singapore’s TradeGecko seals Series A round
When brothers Cameron and Bradley Priest, and Carl Thompson, arrived in Singapore from New Zealand to join start-up accelerator JFDI.Asia in 2012, the idea was to create a mobile app that would connect e-commerce companies with third-party platforms through...
Southeast Asia payment platforms: Who pays?
When Philippine Long Distance Telephone (PLDT) bought a 10% stake in e-commerce incubator Rocket Internet for $444 million last year, the agreement had a notable addendum: the companies would develop a payments and remittance infrastructure for Rocket’s...
China online movie ticket app Weiying raises $105m round
Beijing Weiying Times Technology, a Chinese online portal that sells movie tickets, has completed a Series B round of funding worth $105 million.
Southeast Asia payments provider 2C2P gets Series C round
Southeast Asian payment services provider 2C2P has raised $7 million in Series C funding from investors including Amun Capital and GMO Venture Partners.
Fosun, Tencent lead $35m round for US medical device start-up
China's Fosun International and Tencent Holdings have led a $35 million Series B round for Scanadu, a US-based medical technology start-up working on devices that can send diagnostic tests directly to smart phones.
Singapore doctor discovery platform DocDoc raises $8.5m
DocDoc, the Singapore-based start-up behind the Asian doctor discovery platform of the same name, has raised a Series A round worth S$11.5 million ($8.5 million) from US and Korea-based SparkLabs Global Ventures, and Malaysian conglomerate Hong Leong...
BlueRun closes third China VC fund at $200m
BlueRun Ventures has closed its third China-focused venture capital fund at $200 million, targeting early stage start-ups.
Bangladesh-based SureCash gets $7m Series B round
Bangladeshi mobile banking and payments operator SureCash has raised a $7 million Series B round of funding from Asian frontier market investor Osiris Group.
SEBI considers allowing India VC funds to boost overseas exposure
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is to revise rules governing locally-registered VC funds, allowing them to invest up to a quarter of the their capital overseas - provided the companies hold some operations in India.
Accel, SAIF in $12m Series B round for Coverfox
Indian online insurance marketplace Coverfox has raised a INR750 million ($12 million) Series B round from existing investors Accel Partners and SAIF India.
Biocon to list IVFA-backed India CRO unit
Indian biopharmaceutical firm Biocon has filed for an IPO for its research arm Syngene International, which is backed by India Value Fund Advisors (IVFA).
DBS, Hong Kong’s Nest to launch fintech accelerator
DBS Bank has partnered with Hong Kong-based seed investor Nest to launch a financial technology (fintech) accelerator program.
Mayfield leads Series C for Indian education tech start-up
Mayfield has led a $15 million Series C round for Indian IT certification start-up Simplilearn, with participation from previous investors Kalaari Capital and Helion Venture Partners.
Southeast Asia Netflix clone gets $30m in funding
Iflix, a Southeast Asian video-on-demand platform with a similar business model to Netflix, has received $30 million from Catcha Group and Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT).
Australia’s CHAMP PE hires ex-CVC executive
Australian GP CHAMP Private Equity has hired Graham Brooke, a former executive with CVC Capital Partners, as a managing director based in Sydney.
Financial comparison site CompareAsiaGroup gets $40m round
CompareAsiaGroup, a primarily Southeast Asia-focused service that allows consumers to compare different financial products, has completed a $40 million round of funding that will be used to support further expansion.
Integral, ANA agree joint sponsorship of Japan's Skymark
Tokyo-based private equity firm Integral Corp. has reached an agreement with local airline operator ANA Holdings to invest JPY18 billion ($150 million) in ailing Japanese carrier Skymark.
China's Cybernaut partners with Russian firm for $200m fund
China's Cybernaut Capital has agreed to form a $200 million venture fund, a start-up incubator and a robotics development center with Russia's government-backed Skolkovo Foundation.
Profile: Kalaari Capital's Vani Kola
It has been nearly a decade since Vani Kola, managing director of Kalaari Capital, went from being Silicon Valley entrepreneur to an India venture capitalist. The big move appears to have paid off
LPs remain loyal to Asia Alternatives
New York State Common Retirement Fund (NYSCRF) made its first direct China commitment in 2011, investing $100 million in Hony Capital’s fifth fund. Over the preceding years, the LP fashioned a more targeted Asia strategy, complementing its participation...
Investors pay big for India grocery exposure
The last year has seen an explosion of interest in India’s grocery delivery apps. Customers order food and other goods on their smart phones; the order goes to a buyer, who purchases the goods and then delivers them to the customer’s home. The approach...
Deal focus: Ninebot’s innovation keeps it rolling
China's legendary traffic jams are a source of frustration to countless tourists and locals, not to mention a major cause of pollution. With studies putting the average speed of traffic in Beijing at 7.5 miles per hour, there is a clear opportunity for...
China crowdfunding: The madding crowd
With established Chinese companies, led by e-commerce giant JD.com, getting involved in equity crowdfunding, will these platforms gain traction as a financing channel for Chinese start-ups?
Investec Bank leads $84m round for China P2P lending site
South African-based Investec Bank has led an $84 million Series C round of funding for Jimubox, a Chinese peer-to-peer (P2P) online lending platform, with participation from Haitong Kaiyuan, a PE arm of Haitong Securities.