Financial Services
Deal focus: InstaRem leverages convenience in money transfers
By offering lower fees and faster turnarounds than Western Union and PayPal, InstaRem hopes to steal a march on its rivals and build a truly Asia-focused money transfer platform
SCPE, Goldman invest $28m in Vietnam's M_Service
Standard Chartered Private Equity (SCPE) and Goldman Sachs have invested a combined $28 million in M_Service, the operator behind Vietnamese mobile e-wallet platform MoMo.
India's Alliance Insurance Brokers raises $8.2m
Access Asset Managers has invested INR550 million ($8.2 million) in Alliance Insurance Brokers, a business-to-business (B2B) focused insurance and risk assessment services provider.
China fintech: Transition time
Capital continues to flow into China’s internet finance industry, but competition and regulation are changing the dynamics. VC investors can do well, provided they stay ahead of the game
CHAMP PE backs Australian forex broker
CHAMP Private Equity has invested in Pepperstone, an Australian foreign exchange broker that facilitates more than $100 billion in transactions every month.
Investec backs Australia fintech investor H2 Ventures
Investec has acquired a stake in Australia-based financial technology investor H2 Ventures. It is part of a broader collaboration that will see Investec contribute to H2’s accelerator and early-stage investment program.
CalPERS sells $127m stake in India's Axis Bank
California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) has sold a stake in India’s Axis Bank worth about INR8.7 billion ($127 million) to Genesis Indian Investment Company.
Accel leads $5.8m round for India's Juspay
Accel Partners has led a INR400 million ($5.8 million) Series A round for Indian mobile payments start-up Juspay.
KKR invests in India's Max Financial Services
KKR has bought a 10% stake in Max Financial Services, a spin-off of India's Max Group that controls life insurance player Max Life.
Legend-owned payment platform to list via reverse merger
Lakala, a Chinese offline third-party payment services provider owned by Legend Holdings, is set to list on the Shanghai Stock Exchange through a reverse merger.
Partners Group, Kedaara to buy unit from India's Au Financiers
A joint venture between Kedaara Capital and Partners Group has agreed to buy Au Housing, the mortgage arm of Indian non-banking finance company (NBFC) Au Financiers.
Kalaari leads $4m round for India’s RKSV Securities
Kalaari Capital has led an INR270 million ($4 million) Series A round for RKSV Securities, a Mumbai-based online stock trading firm.
Japan's SBI to lead Series B for US bitcoin exchange Kraken
SBI Investment, the VC arm of Japan's SBI Holdings, has agreed to lead a Series B round for US-based bitcoin exchange Kraken.
Deal focus: Apis backs EPS to lead India ATM industry consolidation
Financial technology investor Apis Partners has committed $25 million to India-based ATM provider Electronic Payments & Services, with more available to support bolt-on acquisitions
Everbright ReinFore invests in China’s Huasheng Finance
Everbright ReinFore, a private equity arm under China Everbright Group, has led a Series B round of funding for Huasheng Finance, a Chinese online lending platform.
China Merchants Bank to invest in Didi Kuaidi
China Merchants Bank (CMB) has agreed to invest in Chinese ride-hailing app Didi Kuaidi, and to create a strategic partnership with the company as well.
Deal focus: Fintech start-up WeLab seeks scale
With $160 million in Series B funding, Hong Kong-based WeLab wants to upgrade its people and technology in order to build a China online lending platform of real scale
JC Flowers to buy Chi-X's Asia trading platforms
J.C. Flowers has agreed to buy the Australia and Japan businesses of Chi-X Global Holdings, an alternative equity trading platform that competes with primary exchanges, as well as the company’s Hong Kong-based technology services unit.
Apis invests in India's EPS
Apis Partners has invested $25 million in Indian payments service provider Electronic Payments and Services (EPS).
Kazanah leads $160m round for Hong Kong's WeLab
Malaysian government-backed investor Khazanah National has led a $160 million Series B round of funding for WeLab, a Hong Kong-based mobile lending and credit analytics platform.
China’s Lufax raises $1.2b round
Shanghai Lujiazui International Financial Asset Exchange (Lufax), a Chinese online finance platform controlled by Ping An Insurance Group, has completed a $1.22 billion round of funding.
China Cocoon Network launches $720m European tech fund
London-based Cocoon Networks, which is backed private equity firms China Equity Group and Hanxin Capital, has launched a GBP500 million ($720 million) venture fund to invest in UK and European technology start-ups.
China online retailer raises $1b for finance unit
Sequoia Capital and China Taiping Insurance have led a RMB6.65 billion ($1 billion) funding round for JD Finance, the financial subsidiary of online retailer JD.com.
CDC commits $50m to India microfinance business Janalakshmi
Indian microfinance lender Janalakshmi Financial Services has raised INR3.3 billion ($50 million) from UK government-backed development finance institution CDC Group.