Sectors

ADB, Orix, Robeco form $400m Asia climate-change fund

The Asian Development Bank (ADB), Japan's ORIX Corp. and Netherland-based Robeco Institutional Asset Management have together formed a private equity fund that will focus on investments in climate-friendly industries such as cleantech and renewable energy....

Hong Kong's 8 Securities raises $9m Series B

Hong Kong-based stock trading and financial management platform 8 Securities has raised a $9 million Series B round of funding. The round included unnamed US and Chinese investors and existing backers Velocity Capital and Leitmotiv Private Equity.

Japan VCs invest $3m in Tokyo tech boot camp

Life is Tech, a Tokyo-based IT boot camp program for elementary and junior high school students, has raised JPY310 million (about $3 million) from Japanese investors Jafco, Mistletoe, KCJ Group, DeNA and Recruit Holdings.

INCJ to form LED business with Japan Display, corporates

The government-backed Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ) is forming a new company with Japan Display, Sony Corp. and Panasonic. The new company will be engaged in the development and commercialization of organic light-emitting diode (OLED)...

Qualcomm backs India's Portea Medical

Qualcomm Ventures, the venture investment unit of US chip-maker Qualcomm, has invested in India's Portea Medical, a provider of in-home healthcare services. The financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

PE-backed Metro Glass gains 5.9% on NZ debut

Shares in Metro Performance Glass - the New Zealand glassmaker whose backers include Crescent Capital, Anchorage Capital and Sankaty Advisors - gained 5.9% on its first day of trading following its NZ$244.2 million ($227 million) IPO.

China's JinkoSolar raises $225m from PE investors

China Development Bank International (CDBI), New Horizon Capital and Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets - via the Macquarie Greater China Infrastructure Fund (MGCIF) - have invested $225 million in the downstream solar power project subsidiary of...

Asian Venture Capital: Not yet bubble territory

Is Asian venture capital back in favor? Based on what has been happening in the last year or so, the answer would be a resounding yes. Like their peers in Silicon Valley, the Asian VC community is certainly seeing more activity than say three years ago....

China logisitcs: Cool customers

Private equity investors see chilled supply chains as a proxy for the greater value Chinese consumers place on food safety and quality. However, for now the industry is still more niche than mass market

Baidu turns to Wanxue for education content

When Chinese search engine Baidu originally reached out to Wanxue Education Technology, it didn't envisage becoming a financial investor in the company. Rather, Baidu was looking for quality content to improve its existing education platform Jiaoyu Baidu...

EQT taps mobile professional growth

As wealth among the Gulf states has has grown so has the demand for better healthcare. According to a recent report by Dubai-based Alpen Capital, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) healthcare market will be worth $69.4 billion by 2018 - up from $39.4...

PEP sees sweet exit on Griffin's Foods

When Pacific Equity Partners (PEP) first came to acquire New Zealand-based snacks producer Griffin's Food in 2006 at an enterprise valuation of NZ$385 million (then $240 million), it represented the classic carve-out opportunity. The company - famous...

Blackstone to invest up to $800m in Tamarind Energy

Blackstone has made a commitment to invest up to $800 million in Malaysia-based oil and gas exploration and production start-up, Tamarind Energy, alongside management. The investment is being made via the GP's energy investment unit, Blackstone Energy...

India's Flipkart raises a record $1b from VC backers

Indian e-commerce firm Flipkart has raised $1 billion from new and existing backers in what is one of the biggest funding rounds raised by an e-commerce company globally and the single largest round by an internet company in the country.