Financials
Gopher, Hillhouse back Huatai Securities' Hong Kong IPO
A fund managed by Gopher Asset Management, a unit of Chinese wealth management firm Noah Holdings, and Hillhouse Capital Management are among 13 cornerstone investors that have committed HK$14.7 million ($1.9 billion) to Huatai Securities’ Hong Kong IPO....
Japanese e-payment service Paidy expands Series A to $8.3m
Arbor Ventures has led an additional $5 million round of funding for Exchange Corporation (ExCo), the Japanese start-up behind e-commerce payment and instant credit service Paidy.
Alibaba's Jack Ma leads investment in Hong Kong brokerage
A consortium led by Jack Ma, founder and executive chairman of Alibaba Group, has acquired 81% of Hong Kong-listed brokerage Reorient Group.
Indian regulator approves Baring Asia's acquisition of CMS
Baring Private Equity Asia has received permission from India's Competition Commission to acquire ATM management service CMS Info Systems, providing an exit for The Blackstone Group.
TPG sells Shriram City Union Finance stake to Apax
TPG Capital has sold its 20.37% stake in Indian non-banking finance company Shriram City Union Finance (SCUF) to Apax Partners. Based on the May 12 closing price of INR1,719, it was worth around INR23 billion ($360 million).
China's JD launches P2P lending platform
Chinese private equity firm JD Capital has invested RMB2 billion ($322 million) to launch an online peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platform.
Fosun to take 20% in payment play Ingenico Group
Fosun Group has invested in Europe-based payment services provider Ingenico Group with a view to helping the company develop its business in China.
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.
Quadrant exits New Zealand lender Heartland
Quadrant Private Equity has exited Heartland New Zealand, selling its 8.75% stake in the lender for NZ$53.5 million ($40.1 million) through a block trade.
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 expansion,...
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 makes partial exit from China's Far East Horizon
KKR has made a partial exit from Far East Horizon, a financial leasing company that is part of the Chinese trading conglomerate Sinochem Group.
IDG, Goldman back US bitcoin start-up's China expansion
IDG Capital Partners and Goldman Sachs have invested $50 million in US-based bitcoin start-up Circle with a few to funding its expansion into China.
China's Fosun to acquire remaining interest in Ironshore
China's Fosun International is seeking to fully acquire US insurer Ironshore, offering $1.8 billion for an 80% stake.
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,...
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...
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.
Bangladesh-based SureCash gets $7m Series B round
Bangladeshi mobile banking and payments operator SureCash has raised a $7 million Series B round of funding from Asian frontier market investor Osiris Group.
DBS, Hong Kong's Nest to launch fintech accelerator
DBS Bank has partnered with Hong Kong-based seed investor Nest to launch a financial technology (fintech) accelerator program.
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.
Bamboo Finance reaches $31m first close on financial inclusion fund
Impact private equity investor Bamboo Finance has reached a $31 million first close on its second financial inclusion-focused fund with commitments from Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (TIAA-CREF) and AXA-IM.
Investec Bank leads $84m round for China P2P lending site
South African-based Investec Bank has led an $84 million Series C round of funding for Jimubox, a Chinese peer-to-peer (P2P) online lending platform, with participation from Haitong Kaiyuan, a PE arm of Haitong Securities.
BlueRun commits $10m to China securities trading site
BlueRun Ventures has committed $10 million in a Series A round of funding to Mazhan.com, a Chinese online margin trading platform.