Funds
Sequoia's Shen remains top Asia VC in Midas List
Seven Asia-based investors have made it on to the 2013 Forbes Midas List of leading global venture capitalists. This compares to 10 last year, although an increasing number of US resident members are known for backing Chinese and Indian start-ups.
Baidu buys VC-backed PPS' online video platform
Baidu has agreed to pay $370 million for PPS’ online video business, creating an exit opportunity for the company’s venture capital backers. Ceyuan Ventures, Qiming Venture Partners and Vision Knight Capital have invested in PPStream in the last seven...
Accion backs Asian financial services start-ups
Non-profit microfinance pioneer Accion will provide funding to three Asian start-ups through its $10 million seed initiative, Venture Lab. Singapore-based Coda Payments, Demyst Data and Indian education access provider Varthana are among the five businesses...
Carlyle launches Japan fund with $2b target - report
Carlyle is said to have launched its latest Japan-focused buyout fund with a target of $2 billion.
OCBC takes part in $116m debt financing for Indonesian toll road operator
Singapore's Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC) has completed IDR1.13 trillion (S116 million) in convertible debt financing for Indonesian toll road operator Baskhara Utama Sedaya (BUS).
Leopard exits Cambodia's Kulara Water
Leopard Capital has exited its entire investment in Cambodia's Kulara Water to the company's founding shareholder. Details of the transaction were not disclosed.
Carlyle-backed New Century refines Hong Kong plan - report
China’s New Century Hotel Group, a portfolio company of The Carlyle Group, plans to spin off its hotel business as a real estate investment trust (REIT) through a $300 million Hong Kong IPO. It earlier planned to list both the hotel and real estate business....
OneVentures leads $1.1m round for Australia mobile video spin-out
Australian venture capital group One Ventures has led a A$1.1 million ($1.1 million) round of seed investment in Incoming, a mobile video start-up spun out of NICTA, a government-funded information and communications technology research company.
Hopu's Fang Fenglei to raise comeback fund
Fang Fenglei, a former Goldman Sachs banker and co-founder of China Hopu Investment Management, is looking to raise at least $2 billion for his new fund - three years after winding down the previous vehicle.
Tata Capital closes Opportunities Fund at $600m
Tata Capital has closed its Tata Opportunities Fund (TOF) with $600 million in commitments, short of its target of $1 billion. The fund was launched back in March 2011, with the mandate of investing within the Tata group of companies and also in Indian...
Hahn & Co. to buy stake in South Korea's STX Energy - UPDATE
Hahn & Co. has agreed to buy a 43.15% stake in STX Energy, a subsidiary of beleaguered South Korean conglomerate STX Corp. AVCJ understands that the transaction a couple of months away from completion, and the terms could change pending the resolution...
Spice Global to co-invest with Silicon Valley's Formation 8
Spice Global, the Indian conglomerate controlled by B.K. Modi, has committed an undisclosed amount to US-based venture capital firm Formation 8. The group will also be looking to co-invest with Formation 8 as it targets US start-ups with the potential...
Korea's Kakao, government to launch start-up fund
South Korean mobile app developer Kakao has teamed up with the South Korean government to launch a KRW30 billion ($27 million) fund aimed at supporting start-ups. The Small & Medium Business Administration (SMBA) will back the Kakao Young Entrepreneur...
CITIC, CDH exit early days China SOE buyout
Two facts worth noting about Chinese private equity: first, there is almost always a willing strategic buyer for a well positioned domestic business; second, the vast majority of PE investments are for minority stakes so if the entrepreneur has set his...
India's education sector: Learning curve
There is no shortage of demand for services or investment opportunity in India’s education sector, but negotiating overcrowding and heavy regulation requires a clear strategy
Chinese IPOs in the US: Green shoots
Online retailer LightInTheBox is seeking to become only the third Chinese company to list in the US in more than a year. But has investor sentiment emerged from its long winter?
Quadrant-backed Virtus Health launches IPO
Quadrant Private Equity-owned in-vitro fertilization (IVF) business Virtus Health launched its IPO road show on Monday. It is poised to be the largest equity offering since SCA Property in November last year and the biggest significant private equity-backed...
NYSTRS commits $85m to KKR's second Asia fund
New York State Teachers’ Retirement System (NYSTRS) has committed $85 million to KKR’s second Asia fund. The vehicle had received $4.8 billion from investors as of mid-April and is expected to announce a final close of $6 billion within the next two months....
Japan's SMBC in talks with TPG to buy Indonesia bank stake – report
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp (SMBC) is said to be in advanced talks to buy 40% of TPG Capital's stake in Indonesia’s Bank Tabungan Pensiunan Nasional (BTPN). The sale would enable the private equity firm to comply with the 40% cap on foreign ownership...
Intel Capital backs South Korean mobile tech maker
Intel Capital, the US chipmaker's corporate VC arm, has invested an undisclosed amount in Zinitix, a South Korean developer of touchscreen controller technology for mobile devices. The funding will help the company expand into other rapidly growing markets...
CITIC, Vector see 3x return on RAE Systems trade sale
CITIC Capital Partners and Vector Capital have exited gas detection equipment manufacturer RAE Systems through a $340 million trade sale to Honeywell. The China-focused GP came in as a co-investor on US-based Vector’s privatization of the company in June...
StarRock to be first China PE firm to enter mutual fund space
China’s sunshine fund StarRock Investment has recently established a mutual fund department, making it the first domestic private equity manager to officially operate in the public fund space.
Haves and have nots
It probably comes as no surprise to most readers that Asia Pacific fundraising in the first quarter of 2013 was much slower than in the past. When I covered the tough fundraising conditions in the March 18 viewpoint, I observed that the market is divided...
Lunar takes the bull by the horns
Nothing transforms the fortunes of a start-up quite like a celebrity endorsement. Twenty-five years ago, former Chinese President Hu Jintao, then still a rising star in the Communist Party, visited Yonghong, a family-owned beef jerky producer based in...