Financials
Indonesia microfinance player Amartha raises $100m
Indonesia’s Amartha, a small business lender focused on rural women entrepreneurs, has raised USD 100m in debt financing from US impact investor Community Investment Management (CIM).
Japan's LayerX lifts Series A to $59m
Japan’s LayerX, an enterprise billing and invoicing software provider, has lifted an ongoing Series A round to JPY 8.2bn (USD 59m) with support from several local VC firms.
India's Lok seeks $200m for Fund IV, gets AIIB support
Indian impact investor Lok Capital has secured USD 25m from Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) for its fourth private equity fund. The target is USD 200m.
Hong Kong's AIA commits $200m to LeapFrog
Hong Kong-listed insurance company AIA Group has agreed to commit USD 200m to various funds managed by LeapFrog Investments, a UK-based impact investor with an extensive Asia footprint.
Deal focus: Chalo thinks beyond the bus stop
India bus-tracking app Chalo is helping fleet operators eliminate fraud and improve efficiency while giving passengers greater visibility on services. It is keen to scale – geographically and vertically
Square Peg leads round for India payments start-up
Australia’s Square Peg Capital has led a USD 10.2m pre-Series A round for India-based payments technology provider XFlow.
PE-backed CompareAsiaGroup merges with US-listed SPAC
CompareAsiaGroup, an Asia-focused financial products comparison platform also known as MoneyHero Group, has agreed to merge with a US-listed special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) at an enterprise value of approximately USD 342m.
Digital bank Tyme wins funding for SE Asia, Africa expansion
Tyme Group, an emerging markets-focused digital banking group with operations in the Philippines and South Africa, has raised USD 77.8m in pre-Series C funding. A portion of the proceeds will be used for expansion into other markets in Southeast Asia.
General Atlantic raises exposure to India's PhonePe
General Atlantic has invested USD 100m in India’s PhonePe only four months after providing the payments platform with a USD 350m round at a pre-money valuation of USD 12bn.
Potentia withdraws from talks to buy Australia-listed Tyro
Australia-based specialist B2B technology investor Potentia Capital has withdrawn from talks to acquire listed payments software provider Tyro Payments – marking the second time attempts to reach an agreement have failed.
Constantinople raises Australia's largest-ever seed round
Australia’s Square Peg Capital has led a AUD 32m (USD 21.3m) seed round for local banking software provider Constantinople. It is being called the largest-ever seed investment in Australia.
Singapore's Bolttech raises $196m
Singapore’s Bolttech, the insurance technology business of Pacific Century Group, has raised a USD 196m round led by Japanese insurer Tokio Marine at a valuation of USD 1.6bn.
Japan's SMBC, Incubate set up USD 200m Asia VC fund
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) has established a USD 200m growth and late-stage pan-Asian VC fund in partnership with Japan’s Incubate Fund, which will co-manage the vehicle.
Fund focus: Integra focuses on the fintech layer
One of few sector specialists in market populated by Indonesia-focused generalists, Integra Partners has fashioned a differentiated investment narrative. LPs committed $90m to the cause
Singapore fintech player AIG raises $80m
Advance Intelligence Group (AIG), a Singapore-headquartered and Indonesia-focused financial technology company, has raised USD 80m in funding led by existing investors Warburg Pincus and Northstar Group.
Portfolio: AIG
Advance Intelligence Group has developed a relatively narrow enterprise fintech business into one of the region’s leading digital lending operations with the help of several VC investors
China insurance tech player raises $43m
Shanghai Kingstar Winning Software, a digital risk control solution provider for insurers, has raised a Series C round of CNY300m (USD 43m) led by China Taiping Insurance Group.
Creador moves stake in Malaysia's CTOS between funds
Creador has rolled over a 14.7% stake in Malaysia-listed credit bureau CTOS Digital, one of its key investments, from its second fund to its fifth fund.
Warburg Pincus set to buy minority stake in Chinese fund house
Warburg Pincus has received regulatory approval to acquire a 23.3% stake in Zhong Ou Asset Management (Zhong Ou AMC), a Chinese mutual fund manager, from Italy's Intesa Sanpaolo Bank.
Southern leads $31.5m round for fintech player Soft Space
Southern Capital has led a USD 31.5m funding round for Southeast Asia-focused payments technology provider Soft Space.
Indian NBFC Avanti Finance raises $24m
Avanti Finance, an Indian technology-led non-banking finance company (NBFC) has received USD 24m in equity funding from Rabo Partnerships and IDH Farmfit Fund, with re-ups from Oikocredit and NRJN Trust.
Deal focus: Hong Kong’s Gryfyn issues web3 passport
Gryfyn, the latest project from Hong Kong’s Animoca Brands, has attracted several VC investors, most of which are not existing backers of its parent. The mission is simple: expand the metaverse
SE Asia financial services specialist Triple P adds partner
Triple P Capital, an impact investor focused on financial services in emerging Southeast Asia, has recruited Ke Qi Zhang from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) as its third partner.
Deal focus: Kredivo cuts through SE Asia growth-stage gloom
Indonesian consumer credit operator Kredivo has punctuated the VC doldrums with an ecosystem-encouraging pre-IPO round. Investors point to low customer acquisition costs as key to the success