Southeast Asia
AVCJ at 25: Joe Bae of KKR
Joe Bae, partner and head of Asia at KKR, set up the private equity firm’s regional operation seven years ago with two principal goals: being as local as possible and building a franchise that is sustainable in the long term
AVCJ at 25: Lip-Bu Tan of Walden International
Lip-Bu Tan, founder and chairman of Walden International, plotted the route by which foreign venture capital entered China’s internet sector, as well as guiding dozens of Asian companies from start-up to listing
AVCJ at 25: Roy Kuan of CVC Capital Partners
Roy Kuan, managing partner at CVC Capital Partners, witnessed a transformation in private equity in the wake of the Asian financial crisis. Suddenly he was in the buyout business, carving out assets from distressed conglomerates
AVCJ at 25: George Raffini of Headland Capital Partners
George Raffini spent 21 years with HSBC’s Asia private equity unit before the team spun out to form Headland Capital Partners in 2010. He witnessed Asia reach new highs in the 1990s before brutally falling to earth
AVCJ at 25: Ta-Lin Hsu of H&Q Asia Pacific
Ta-Lin Hsu, founder and chairman of H&Q Asia Pacific, brought venture capital to Taiwan as part of efforts to develop the tech sector. It was a launching pad for private equity across the region
Temasek’s Vertex leads Series B round for Clearbridge BioMedics
Vertex Ventures, a VC unit of Temasek Holdings, has led a Series B round of financing for Singapore-based Clearbridge BioMedics worth S$9 million ($7.2 million). Other participants include existing investor BioVeda, Spring Seeds Capital, Biosensors International...
Olympus Capital launches Asia structured credit business
Olympus Capital Asia is entering the structured credit space, with a particular focus on Southeast Asia, India and Australia. Daniel Mintz, the private equity firm’s founding managing director, believes the pullback by commercial banks combined with...
PE, strategics bid for Thai Life Insurance stake – report
A clutch of private equity firms and strategic investors have reportedly entered the bidding for a 20% stake in Thai Life Insurance, with the deal expected to reach around $500 million.
Asia has more than one third of global sovereign assets – study
Asia accounts for 39% of the $5.2 trillion in sovereign wealth fund (SWF) assets globally, with China alone holding $1.49 trillion, according to a new study.
Bamboo Finance, DFIs back Philippines financial services start-up
Bamboo Finance has teamed up with a group of non-profit investors to commit $24 million to Bridge, a Philippines-based financial services start-up dedicated to improving rural banking. The participants include microfinance pioneer Accion and two development...
Q&A: Ancora Capital's Veronica Lukito
Veronica Lukito, co-founder and managing director of Ancora Capital, discusses Indonesian growth, hype and myriad challenges in capitalizing on Asia's latest success story
Indonesia mid-market: It’s who you know
Although not overrun with GPs, Indonesia’s mid-market is difficult to penetrate. Access to local networks through which deals can be sourced is a good first step. After that, it’s entrepreneur management
Indonesia fundraising: Reality check
Few Indonesia-focused GPs that sprung up in recent years have made headway. It points to a still immature local market and recognition amongst LPs that they can get exposure to the country in other ways
PE recruitment: New territory, new talent
Indonesia has become a priority for global and regional PE firms looking to source deals in a high-growth market. The first step is finding the right people, and it’s not easy
CVC-backed Matahari launches $1.3b offering
CVC Capital Partners and its local partner are seeking up to $1.36 billion through a partial exit from Indonesian retailer Matahari Department Store. The deal values Matahari at $3.4 billion, which means the private equity firm stands to make a substantial...
TPG, Northstar approached for BTPN stake - report
Japanese banks Mitsubishi UFJ, Mizuho and Sumitomo Mitsui are said to be among potential suitors approaching TPG and Northstar Pacific Partners with a view to acquiring their stake in Indonesia's Bank Tabungan Pensiunan Nasional (BTPN). The PE firms'...
New York State Common backs RRJ Capital
New York State Common Retirement Fund (NYSCRF) has committed $300 million to RRJ Capital, the Hong Kong-based GP set up by Richard Ong, formerly of Goldman Sachs and Hopu Investment Management.
AID Partners makes bet on HMV
The rise of services like iTunes and Spotify are enough to make any record store business shudder. Factor in the proliferation of file-sharing services and online piracy, and it is inevitable former giants like the UK's HMV seem to be going the way of...
Hunting the lion city
When John Tsang, Hong Kong’s financial secretary, extended the private equity industry a significant tax incentive in last week’s budget, it was presented in the wider context of encouraging more funds to domicile in the territory. In some quarters,...
Portfolio: Navis Capital and Malaysia's Alliance Cosmetics
Alliance Cosmetics was already the dominant force in Malaysian make-up market when it was acquired by Navis Capital Partners in 2010. The next step was to use this experience to break into Indonesia
Share your views on Indonesian PE in AVCJ's online poll
Indonesia has emerged as one of Asia’s most popular PE markets with global and regional firms looking to put more people on the ground in search of deals while a host of fledgling domestic GPs have hit the fundraising trail. Today we ask AVCJ readers...
AVCJ hosts Indonesia webinar
Leading investors will debate whether Indonesia deserves its status as Asia’s fastest-rising private equity market at an AVCJ webinar on March 5. It will begin at 4 p.m. (3 p.m. Jakarta time) and will last for approximately 45 minutes. Audience members...
JAFCO invests $5 million in HiringBoss
Japanese venture capital firm JAFCO has put $5 million into HR software provider HiringBoss in a Series A round of funding.
KKR’s Asia fund ‘practically closed’ – Kravis
KKR’s second Asia fund is “practically closed” having exceeded its $6 billion cap, according to Henry Kravis, co-chairman of the private equity firm. This confirms earlier reports that the fund – the largest vehicle ever raised in the region,...