Financial Services
Eight Roads leads $15m round for Japan payments provider
Eight Roads Ventures has led a $15 million Series B round of funding for Paidy, a cardless payment and instant credit service offered by Japanese financial technology platform Exchange Corporation.
Permira reaches $6.9b first close on latest global fund
Permira has achieved a first close for its sixth global buyout fund, with about EUR6.3 billion ($6.9 billion) in commitments.
Hong Kong’s Quantifeed gets $4.5m Series A round
China’s PGA Venture Partners has led a $4.5 million Series A round of funding for Hong Kong-based financial services software provider Quantifeed.
SBI leads $17.5m investment in Thailand’s Omise
Japan’s SBI Investment has led a $17.5 million Series B funding round for Thailand-based online payment services provider Omise.
CDC to invest $149m in India Infoline Finance
CDC Group, the UK government-owned development finance institution (DFI), has agreed to invest INR10 billion ($149 million) in IIFL Holdings’ non-banking finance company (NBFC) India Infoline Finance.
Yorkway invests in Australia's One Investment
Yorkway Capital Partners has entered a strategic partnership with Australian corporate fiduciary services provider One Investment Group and has made an investment in the company.
Q&A: Tata Capital Growth Fund's Pramod Ahuja
Tata Capital currently manages five private equity funds across different strategies. Pramod Ahuja, a partner responsible for the firm’s $240 million growth vehicle, discusses the opportunity set
MSPEA backs India NBFC Five Star
Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia (MSPEA) has invested INR1.14 billion ($16.9 million) in Five Star Business Finance, an India-based non-banking finance company (NBFC) that specializes in small ticket business and housing loans.
Deal focus: IDG backs Circle’s payments play
Circle is ready to test its blockchain-based online peer-to-peer payments platform in China, with support from a string of local financial and strategic investors
Blackstone invests $134m in New Zealand's Partners Life
The Blackstone Group’s tactical opportunities division has made a NZ$200 million ($134.5 million) investment in New Zealand insurance provider Partners Life.
Asia leads first quarter global fintech investments
VC-backed companies in Asia led a worldwide surge of investments in financial technology companies in the first quarter of 2016, according to a new report from KPMG and CB Insights (CBI).
Vision Knight leads $153m round for China’s Weidai
Vision Knight Capital has led a $1 billion ($153 million) Series C round of funding for Weidai, a Chinese peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platform that specializes on providing auto loans.
IFC commits $20m to India's Grameen Koota
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the investment arm of the World Bank, has committed up to INR1.4 billion ($20 million) to Indian microfinance institution (MFI) Grameen Koota.
Creation leads $25m Series B for India's Capital Float
Chicago-based Creation Investments Capital Management has led a $25 million Series B round for Indian small and medium-sized enterprise (SME)-focused non-banking finance company (NBFC) Capital Float.
India's Mobikwik raises $50m in Series C funding
India-based mobile wallet developer Mobikwik has raised $50 million in a Series C round of funding led by Japanese internet company GMO, Taiwan-based semiconductor manufacturer MediaTek, and existing backer Sequoia Capital.
China regulator to tighten rules on domestic PE fundraising
The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) will take further steps to regulate the domestic private fund industry in response to an acceleration in illegal fundraising activities.
MSPEA nets 4.5x return on part-exit from Hong Kong's AMTD
Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia (MSPEA) secured a 4.5x return on its partial exit from Hong Kong-based financial advisor AMTD when China Minsheng International and LR Capital Group took a majority interest in the business.
China's Ant Financial closes $4.5b funding round
Ant Financial, Alibaba Group’s online financial services affiliate, has completed a $4.5 billion Series B round of funding, said to be the largest-ever fundraise by a private internet company globally.
China online finance site Licaifan completes $51m round
Licaifan, a Chinese online finance platform, has raised a RMB330 million ($51 million) Series C round of funding from domestic investor Yingda Investment.
China Growth Capital leads round for auto-focused lending platform
China Growth Capital has led an extended RMB217 million ($34 million) Series A round for Chedai.com, a Chinese automobile financial lending platform.
Ex-Capstone executive joins PE-backed CompareAsiaGroup
CompareAsiaGroup, an online financial comparison platform that last year received a $40 million round led by Goldman Sachs, has appointed former KKR executive Sam Allen as its CEO.
JD Finance invests in VC-backed Meili Jinrong
JD Finance, the financial subsidiary of Chinese online retailer JD.com, has invested an undisclosed sum in Meili Jinrong, a peer-to-peer (P2P) online lending platform with a focus on consumer finance. Both companies are backed by several VC investors.
China third-party insurance platform Hzins raises $30m
Hzins.com, a Chinese third-party insurance service provider, has raised RMB200 million ($30 million) in a Series B round of funding from domestic GPs including Beijing Wanrong Times Capital and Shenzhen CDF-Capital.
Deal focus: SCPE backs MoMo’s online-offline payment offering
MoMo provides an online bridge to Vietnamese consumers whose needs are not met by the country's traditional financial services infrastructure. Standard Chartered Private Equity is sponsoring further growth