Regions
China’s Dayone Capital closes debut fund at $630m
Dayone Capital, a Chinese consumer-focused PE firm established by Allen Chen, founder of eyewear brand Mujosh and co-founder of BA Capital, has closed its debut fund at $630 million.
Chinese investors join $400m round for Nigeria's Opay
Several Chinese investors have re-upped in a $400 million round – at a valuation of $2 billion – for Nigeria-based logistics and payments technology company Opay.
Kedaara, Partners Group complete Aavas sell-downs
Kedaara Capital and Partners Group have made partial exits from Aavas Financiers, the mortgage business they carved out from Indian non-banking finance company Au Financiers in 2016 and took public two years later.
KKR, OTPP, PSP to buy Australia's Spark Infrastructure for $7.2b
KKR, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP), PSP Investments have agreed to buy Australia-listed Spark Infrastructure, which has extensive interests in electricity transmission and distribution, for an enterprise valuation of A$10.1 billion ($7.2 billion).
India's 3one4 names new partner
Indian venture capital firm 3one4 Capital has elevated Anurag Ramdasan to partner level, alongside a rush of more junior promotions.
China's Deepexi raises $100m Series B
Deepexi, a Chinese start-up that provides digital transformation solutions to enterprise customers, has raised $100 million in a Series B funding round led by Guotai Junan Securities and an investment arm of China Industrial International Trust Asset...
Jafco leads $13m Series A for Taiwan cybersecurity player
Jafco Asia, a Singapore-based unit of Japanese VC firm Jafco, has led a $12.9 million Series A round for Taiwanese industrial cybersecurity provider TXOne Networks.
Australia's Blackbird leads Series B for education start-up
Blackbird Ventures has led a $25 million Series B funding round for Forage, an Australia-founded but now US-based provider of virtual training courses aimed at students.
Baring buys enterprise tech player Straive from Partners Group
Baring Private Equity Asia is poised to add to its enterprise technology portfolio with the acquisition of Straive – a Philippines-based outsourcing business previously known as SPi Global – from Partners Group.
China gas station platform Newlink raises $308m
Newlink Group, operator of a platform that helps drivers in China locate the best value gas stations and charging piles, has raised RMB2 billion ($308 million) led by China Merchants Capital.
Postman becomes India’s top SaaS unicorn
Software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider Postman has closed a $225 million Series D round at a valuation of $5.6 billion, making it the most valuable start-up of its kind in India.
Faering leads $40m Series C for India fintech start-up
Indian private equity firm Faering Capital has led a $40 million Series C round for stock trading and thematic portfolio platform Smallcase, with support from Amazon and Premji Invest.
Korea's Danggeun Market raises $162m at $2.7b valuation
DST Global has led a $162 million Series D round for Danggeun Market, operator of Korean flea market app Karrot, at a valuation of $2.7 billion.
Pakistan's Airlift raises $85m Series B
Airlift, a Pakistani last-mile delivery app, has raised an $85 million Series B round in what is being called the largest-ever start-up investment in Pakistan and the Middle East and North Africa region.
China vaccine developer Abogen raises $700m
Suzhou Abogen Biosciences, a Chinese vaccine developer targeting COVID-19, has raised $700 million in Series C funding featuring Temasek Holdings, Loyal Valley Capital, and Lilly Asia Ventures.
Quadrant buys Australia sleepwear brand
Quadrant Private Equity has acquired Australian women’s sleepwear brand Papinelle for an undisclosed sum with plans for international expansion.
China's PatPat gets $160m in Series D extension
PatPat, a Chinese-founded children’s wear brand, has raised $160 million from Softbank Vision Fund in a Series D round extension.
Vietnam's Mekong invests $10m in real estate portal
Mekong Capital has invested $10.2 million in Rever, a leading online-to-offline real estate brokerage business in Vietnam.
Affirma invests $100m in Korea cloud services provider
Affirma Capital has secured a third deal for its latest Korea fund, with an agreement to invest $100 million in Metanet T Platform, a local cloud managed service provider (MSP).
Start-up profiles: Digital banking, embedded finance, crypto banking
The Philippines’ Tonik breaks ground in neo-banking; India’s YAP finds new ways to connect banks with their customers; Singapore’s Matrixport scales fast with decentralized finance
Start-up profiles: Infrastructure, insurance, data, payments
Singapore’s Fireblocks tokenizes traditional banks; India’s PolicyBazaar mulls the future of insurance; China’s Rong360 diversifies through data; Cambodia’s Clik targets a payments frontier
Start-up profiles: Transfers, risk, marketplaces
Singapore’s Thunes rethinks remittances for an enterprise clientele; China’s IceKredit brings data privacy to credit scoring; India’s OfBusiness gravitates towards a healthy loans segment
Asia fintech: Platform plays
Expansion is the dominant theme in financial technology as start-ups leverage existing assets to enter new verticals, typically in lending. Which ones will become Asia’s preeminent platforms?