Southeast Asia
PAG targets $3b for second Asia fund
PAG Asia Capital has launched its second pan-regional fund and is looking to raise $3 billion. The GP, which is led by Weijian Shan, formerly of TPG Capital, closed its maiden fund at $2.5 billion in 2012.
Thailand’s aCommerce raises $5m from existing backers
Existing investors including Ardent Capital, Indonesian conglomerate Sinarmas and Inspire Ventures have committed $5 million to aCommerce, a Thailand-based e-commerce services provider.
Singtel Innov8 leads Series B round for US big data start-up
Singtel Innov8, the early stage investor backed by Singapore telco Singtel, has led a $15 million Series B round for US big data start-up DataTorrent. GE Ventures, and the start-up's existing investors, also took part in the round.
Thailand payment services provider gets Series A round
Indonesian venture capital fund SMDV has a $2.6 million Series A round for Thailand-based payment solutions start-up Omise.
Deal focus: LeapFrog seals debut Indonesia deal
Indonesia's middle class is expected to jump from 70 million in 2012 to more than 140 million by 2020 – representing more than half of the country’s population – according to the Boston Consulting Group. Financial services should benefit from this...
Indonesia infrastructure: Proceed with caution
Having promised a massive increase in infrastructure spending, Indonesia’s government wants foreign investors to help move projects along. Private equity players see opportunities, but also risks
Anthem invests in Myanmar mobile data collection platform
Myanmar-focused investor Anthem Asia has provided funding to Xavey, a local mobile data collection platform that works with groups conducting research and surveys.
Deal focus: 2C2P plots regional expansion
Southeast Asia-focused payments provider 2C2P has made substantial progress in Myanmar over the last 12 months. It has introduced the country’s first mobile-based point-of-sale payment solution, issued prepaid cards that link to a mobile app, and launched...
KKR-owned MMI completes $580m refinancing
MMI, a Singapore-based hard disk drive components manufacturer owned by KKR, has secured a $520 million term loan and a $60 million five-year secured revolving credit facility to refinance its outstanding debt.
Indonesia's Kudo gets Gree Ventures, East Ventures backing
Japan's Gree Ventures and East Ventures have led a undisclosed Series A round investment in Indonesian online-to-offline (O2O) e-commerce start-up Kudo.
India's Fortis to sell Singapore unit for $83.5m
India's Fortis Healthcare will sell its Singapore-based diagnostics arm RadLink-Asia to Fullerton Healthcare Group for S$111 million ($83.5 million).
Rocket's FoodPanda raises a further $100m
Goldman Sachs has led the latest funding round for Rocket Internet's emerging markets-focused food delivery app FoodPanda, netting the company $100 million.
OPIC seeks fundraising proposals from emerging markets GPs
The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), a development finance institution (DFI) backed by the US government, has issued a call for proposals from private equity fund managers raising funds for emerging markets.
LeapFrog to invest in Indonesia's Reliance Capital Management
Microfinance-focused investor LeapFrog Investments will lead a $45 million commitment to Reliance Capital Management, an Indonesian financial services provider. This is its first investment in the country.
Scaling up in financial comparison
Moneysupermarket.com started out in 1993 as an offline provider of mortgage information to financial intermediaries. It went online six years later as a retail business, allowing UK consumers to search and compare different mortgage products. Credit cards,...
Singapore’s TradeGecko seals Series A round
When brothers Cameron and Bradley Priest, and Carl Thompson, arrived in Singapore from New Zealand to join start-up accelerator JFDI.Asia in 2012, the idea was to create a mobile app that would connect e-commerce companies with third-party platforms through...
Southeast Asia payment platforms: Who pays?
When Philippine Long Distance Telephone (PLDT) bought a 10% stake in e-commerce incubator Rocket Internet for $444 million last year, the agreement had a notable addendum: the companies would develop a payments and remittance infrastructure for Rocket’s...
Japan's Rebright launches $20m fund for India start-ups
Rebright Partners - an early-stage investor backed by a consortium of Japanese internet companies - has formed a JPY2.4 billion ($20 million) fund to invest technology start-ups in India.
Southeast Asia payments provider 2C2P gets Series C round
Southeast Asian payment services provider 2C2P has raised $7 million in Series C funding from investors including Amun Capital and GMO Venture Partners.
TPG Growth closes third global fund at $3b
TPG Capital has reached a final close of $3 billion on its third global middle market and growth equity fund. The initial target was $2.75 billion.
Singapore doctor discovery platform DocDoc raises $8.5m
DocDoc, the Singapore-based start-up behind the Asian doctor discovery platform of the same name, has raised a Series A round worth S$11.5 million ($8.5 million) from US and Korea-based SparkLabs Global Ventures, and Malaysian conglomerate Hong Leong...
Southeast Asia Netflix clone gets $30m in funding
Iflix, a Southeast Asian video-on-demand platform with a similar business model to Netflix, has received $30 million from Catcha Group and Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT).
Financial comparison site CompareAsiaGroup gets $40m round
CompareAsiaGroup, a primarily Southeast Asia-focused service that allows consumers to compare different financial products, has completed a $40 million round of funding that will be used to support further expansion.
Leveraged finance: Coming to America?
It has become increasingly costly for private equity firms to access borrower-friendly US financing for leveraged buyouts in Asia. The US markets are fickle and volatile, but Asian banks are also stepping up