Regions
Thailand's Flash Express secures $150m in new funding
Thailand-based express delivery company Flash Express has raised $150 million across an extended Series D round and a Series E round. It has now raised approximately $550 million to date and claims to be Thailand’s first unicorn.
KKR impact fund backs Vietnam K-12 business
KKR is mobilizing its recently established global impact fund to invest Vietnamese K-12 bilingual school operator EQuest Education.
KKR, Tiga acquire Hong Kong's The Executive Centre
KKR and Tiga Investments have agreed to acquire Hong Kong office space provider The Executive Centre (TEC), facilitating exits for HPEF Capital Partners and CVC Capital Partners.
Carlyle commits $439m to India's PNB Housing Finance
The Carlyle Group has agreed to invest up to INR31.8 billion ($439 million) in India-listed PNB Housing Finance, which would give it a majority interest in the company and trigger an open offer for an additional stake.
China SaaS provider Xforceplus raises $200m
Chinese software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider Xforceplus has raised a $200 million round led by Silicon Valley’s Dragoneer Investment Group and Beijing-based MSA Capital.
Fund focus: Glory’s deep-tech thesis gains traction
Having initially struggled to win over LPs with a strategy focused on capital-intensive deep-tech assets, Glory Ventures was helped by US-China technology decoupling and the rise of new infrastructure
China IPOs: Regulatory rumblings
China’s Star Market has seen a drop-off in IPOs as regulators call for heightened scrutiny of listing candidates – to the point of asking PE and VC investors to identify the LPs in their funds
Myanmar: Asia’s anguish
Myanmar has proven unique among Asia’s frontier markets in terms of volatility and risk. As its ongoing humanitarian and political catastrophe deepens, a sense of helplessness has taken root
LP interview: OMERS
Canadian pension fund OMERS, an established infrastructure investor in Asia, is beginning to make its mark regionally in private equity. Post-pandemic China has provided a foothold
Deal focus: NiKang pursues hard-to-drug targets
With big pharma scaling back early-stage discovery, CBC Group is keen to incubate biotech start-ups developing drugs from scratch. NiKang Therapeutics is the first to secure wider investor attention
Deal focus: Hahn embarks on Korea dairy turnaround
Beleaguered by a string of scandals and unable to turn the tide of negative publicity, the family owner of Namyang Dairy Products opted to sell to private equity. His first call was to Hahn & Company
Sequoia, Yunfeng lead $228m round for Chinese rice brand
Shiyuedaotian, a Chinese rice brand, has raised RMB1.45 billion ($228 million) in Series B funding led by Sequoia Capital China and Yunfeng Capital. CMC Group and Taihe Capital also took part, as did existing investor GenBridge Capital.
Ex-Goldman Japan strategist launches ESG VC fund
Kathy Matsui, formerly vice chair and chief Japan strategist at Goldman Sachs, has launched what is described as Japan’s first global venture capital fund focused on environment, social and governance (ESG).
PE-backed PropertyGuru buys Malaysia, Thailand assets from REA
PropertyGuru, a Singapore-based real estate portal backed by the likes of TPG Capital and KKR, has acquired REA Group’s property technology assets in Malaysia and Thailand.
China trucking platform Manbang files for US IPO
Manbang, a China trucking business that claims to be the world’s largest digital freight platform, has filed for a US IPO. The company achieved a valuation of $12 billion in its most recent funding round six months ago.
Tata buys majority stake in India's BigBasket
Tata Group has acquired a majority stake in India’s BigBasket, an online grocer backed significantly by Alibaba Group and several private equity investors. It has been valued previously at around $2 billion.
Bain & Co names Australia PE head
Bain & Company has appointed James Viles as head of its Australia private equity practice, a newly created role.
China's Yingke closes renminbi, US dollar funds
Shanghai-based Yingke Private Equity has raised RMB10 billion ($1.57 billion) for its latest renminbi-denominated fund as well as an undisclosed sum for a third US dollar vehicle.
LPs look for signs of maturity in Vietnam PE - AVCJ Forum
Institutional investors are encouraged by the progress Vietnam has made in terms of macroeconomic stability and ease of doing business, but they are still waiting for the local private equity ecosystem to reach its next level of maturity.
CDIB, Firstred, Huatai buy China cosmetics packaging business
CDIB Capital has teamed up with Firstred Capital and Huatai International Private Equity Fund to acquire 100% of Chinese cosmetics packaging company Yuga Holdings for an undisclosed sum.
PE-backed JD Logistics raises $3.2b in Hong Kong IPO
JD Logistics, a supply chain solutions and logistics provider that spun out from Chinese online retailer JD.com, gained 3.3% on its Hong Kong trading debut following a HK$24.6 billion ($3.2 billion) IPO.
Glory raises $120m for second China venture fund
China's Glory Ventures has closed its second US dollar-denominated fund at $120 million, with VC-focused fund-of-funds Unicorn Capital Partners serving as the anchor LP.
Netease to spin out PE-backed music streaming business
Cloud Village, a music streaming business controlled by Chinese internet and gaming giant NetEase and backed by the likes of General Atlantic, Boyu Capital, and Yunfeng Capital, has filed for a Hong Kong IPO.