Funds
Q&A: United Overseas Bank's Wee Yap Yeo
United Overseas Bank (UOB) has teamed up with Orix Corp. to launch a $200 million Southeast Asia mezzanine fund. Wee Yap Yeo, head of mezzanine capital at UOB, explains the strategy
Cross-border e-commerce: The final frontier
Rocket Internet and Alibaba Group are preparing to go public and have ambitious growth plans. But how suited are their respective models to cross-border e-commerce expansion?
Crowdfunding: Herd dynamics
More start-ups are tapping crowdfunding platforms for capital. How well prepared are Asian markets to accommodate the phenomenon and what does its emergence mean for venture capital investors?
ClearVue leads Series A for China mobile crowdtasking app
ClearVue Partners have led a $3.2 million Series A round of funding for WeiChaiShi, a Chinese mobile crowdtasking platform, with participation from Nokia Growth Partners.
Renren leads round for Chinese financial social network
China’s social networking platform Renren has led a $40 million Series C round for Snowball, a Chinese financial information portal, with participation from existing investor Morningside Technologies.
Australia's Looop raises $2m
Looop, an Australian online learning platform for employees, has raised a $2 million seed round from an undisclosed education investor.
IvyCap, IDG invest in Indian online apparel retailer eShakti
IvyCap Ventures and IDG Ventures India (IDGVI) have participated in a undisclosed Series B round investment for India's eShakti.com, an online women's apparel retailer.
Baidu backs China online learning site SmartStudy
Chinese internet giant Baidu has invested $10.6 million in a Series A round of funding for Smart SmartStudy.com, an online education platform.
Xiaomi, Shunwei lead $37m round for China P2P lending site Jimubox
Chinese smart phone maker Xiaomi and Shunwei Capital Partners, both founded by Chinese angel investor Lei Jun, have jointly led a $37.2 million Series B round of funding for Jimubox, a peer-to-peer (P2P) lending start-up in China.
Nomura forms PE joint venture in Shenzhen
Japan’s Nomura Asset Management has set up a joint venture with Shenzhen Hua Xia Ren He Capital Management to conduct private equity fund business in China.
VCs back Zai Lab drug development model
Few VC firms are keen to invest in China's early-stage drug discovery space because the development cycle is long and risky. Taking a new drug from clinical testing to commercialization often takes 7-10 years and the success rate in China is less than...
Navis returns for Dome Coffees refill
Having built a strong relationship with the management team at Dome Coffees Australia, Navis Capital Partners was comfortable with the notion of buying the specialty coffee and dining restaurant chain for a second time, 11 years after the first acquisition....
Portfolio: YPX and China casual dining
YPX Cayman was born out of an idea for a tech-style start-up in China's casual dining space. Backed by a string of investors, the firm is making headway with Cloud 9 and preparing to launch new concepts
GenNext Ventures, Microsoft India launch tech accelerator
GenNext Ventures, the VC arm of Reliance Industries, has tied up with Microsoft Ventures India to launch an accelerator program, with a view to catalyzing the Indian technology start-up ecosystem.
Japan's Relux raises $3.1m from Recruit Holdings, others
Japanese luxury hotel booking site Relux has raised JPY330 million ($3.1 million) from Recruit Holdings and other undisclosed investors.
Gobi invests in China second-hand car trading site Mychebao
Gobi Partners has invested in a Series A round of funding for Mychebao.com, a Chinese online trading platform for second-hand cars.
Rebright leads $1m seed round for Singapore's Smove
Japanese seed investor Rebright Partners has led a $1.1 million funding round for Clean Mobility Singapore, the Singapore-based start-up behind car rental service Smove, with participation from 500 Startups and Wavemaker Pacific.
Unison holds $428m first close on Fund IV, eyes $714m
Unison Capital has reached a first close on its latest Japan buyout vehicle - Unison Capital Partners IV(F) - of JPY45 billion ($428 million), with the fund expecting a final close of JPY75 billion.
Carlyle closes fourth Asia buyout fund at $3.9b
The Carlyle Group has reached a final close on its fourth Asian fund - Carlyle Asia Partners IV (CAP IV) - at $3.9 billion.
Foxconn invests $2m in Taiwan's AirSig
Electronics manufacturer Foxconn Technology Group has invested $2 million for a 10% stake in AirSig, a Taiwan-based mobile authentication start-up.
Rocket, Kinnevik to form emerging market fashion e-commerce giant
German start-up incubator Rocket Internet and Investment AB Kinnevik, Rocket's biggest backer, are to consolidate five emerging market fashion e-commerce brands into a single global company with a combined valuation of EUR2.7 billion ($3.5 billion).
Shunwei, Angelvest back English evaluation firm Vericant
Shunwei Capital Partners and Anglevest have led a Series A round of funding for Vericant, a Chinese company that provides a third-party English evaluation services to North American universities.
Tencent invests $20m in Korea's PATI Games
China’s Tencent Holdings has invested KRW20 billion ($20 million) in Korean mobile game developer PATI Games.
Korea VC: Seoul-searching
The South Korean start-up community is flourishing as early-stage investors flock to the country in search of opportunities. What is driving this renewed interest and can it last?