Funds
Southeast Asia's aCommerce raises further $10m
Southeast Asia-focused e-commerce solutions provider aCommerce has raised $10 million in new funding ahead of a planned Series B round. The latest commitment is led by MDI Ventures, a corporate VC fund run by Indonesian mobile operator Telkom.
Suning, Tencent invest in China VC-backed cosmetic surgery app
Gengmei, a Chinese cosmetic surgery social networking app backed by several VC investors, has raised an undisclosed amount of Series C funding from Chinese companies Suning Commerce Group and Tencent Holdings.
NSR completes exit from India's VRL
New Silk Route (NSR) has exited its remaining stake in Indian logistics firm VRL Logistics.
VCs invest $44m in China mobile app developer DotC United
DotC United, a Hong Kong-based mobile app publisher, has raised a RMB300 million ($44 million) Series A round of funding from several Chinese VC investors, including Banyan Capital and Chengwei Capital.
Bain, Goldman Sachs to acquire Korea's Carver
Bain Capital Private Equity and Goldman Sachs have agreed to acquire a majority position in Carver Korea, a specialist cosmetics supplier.
Legend Capital leads $14m round for China's Udesk
Legend Capital has led a RMB100 million ($14 million) Series B round of funding for Udesk, a China-based customer service outsourcing business.
GIC backs South Korea's Hyundai Logistics
Singapore’s GIC Private has invested in a real estate fund that acquired the Hyundai Logistics Distribution Center in South Korea.
Chinese investors in $181m round for US-based Unity
Unity Technologies, a US-based video game engine maker, has closed a $181 million Series C round of funding led by DFJ Growth, with participation from China Investment Corporation (CIC) and Chinese early-stage investor FreeS Fund.
Brookfield closes $14b global infrastructure fund
Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management has achieved a final close of $14 billion for a global infrastructure fund, exceeding the vehicle’s original target corpus of $10 billion.
DCM leads $10m round for China big data specialist
DCM Ventures has led a $10 million round for SequoiaDB, a Chinese big data software developer, followed by existing investor Qiming Venture Partners.
Q&A: Shaw Kwei & Partners' Kyle Shaw
Kyle Shaw, managing director of Shaw Kwei & Partners, discusses the value to be found in taking traditional yet complex industrial businesses and switching them to a high-end track.
IDG Capital Partners closes $1b China VC fund
IDG Capital Partners has closed its latest China-focused venture capital fund at $1 billion, in partnership with Silicon Valley-based Breyer Capital.
Japan's J-Star promotes two to partner
Japanese GP J-Star has promoted Yuki Kashiyama, an investment professional in the operating team, and Tomoko Ando, who works in the administration team, to partners.
CLSA exits Japanese used car auction operator
CLSA Capital Partners, the alternative asset management arm of Hong Kong-headquartered brokerage and investment group CLSA, has fully exited its stake in Japanese used car auction operator Mirive.
Singapore's Paktor raises $10m for Japan, Korea expansion
Paktor, a Southeast Asia-focused mobile dating app, has raised $10 million in a new round of funding led by Japan’s YJ Capital, the corporate venture arm of Yahoo Japan.
IIFL, Accion lead round for Indian fintech startup NeoGrowth
IIFL Asset Management and Accion Frontier Inclusion Fund have led a funding round of an undisclosed amount in Indian small retailer-focused fintech start-up NeoGrowth.
Japan's SmartNews secures $38m Series D
Tokyo-based news discovery app SmartNews has raised $38 million in a Series D round led by Development Bank of Japan.
Everbright mezzanine fund backs western China education player
China Everbright has invested an undisclosed sum in Sichuan Hope Education Group, which claims to be the largest private education provider in western China, through its renminbi-denominated mezzanine fund.
Gopher, Perfect World launch $300m China media M&A fund
Gopher Asset Management, the PE arm of Noah Holdings, has teamed up with Chinese movies-to-gaming company Perfect World to launch a media and culture M&A fund that has a target of RMB2 billion ($300 million).
Farallon raises $1.1b for Asia, Latin America special situations fund
Farallon Capital Management has closed its third special situations fund focused on Asia and Latin America at $1.1 billion.
India's Carlyle-backed PNB Housing Finance files for IPO
PNB Housing Finance, the mortgage lender subsidiary of India's state-run Punjap National Bank that is backed by The Carlyle Group, has filed for a INR25 billion ($370 million) IPO.
Australia's Alchemy Ventures launches $150m fund
Australian venture capital firm Alchemy Ventures has launched a A$200 million ($150.3 million) fund that will focus largely on regional start-ups specializing in electric vehicle (EV) batteries.
Alibaba acquires VC-backed Chinese app platform Wandoujia
Alibaba Group has bought China-based Android mobile app platform Wandoujia - which has several VC and PE investors, including DCM Ventures and Goldman Sachs - for an undisclosed sum.
Cross-border VC: Changes in the wind
US-China cross border investment continues to present exciting opportunities for venture capital firms targeting technology start-ups, but investors must keep up with the pace of the market’s transformation