TMT
China’s Alibaba backs Israeli venture fund
Alibaba Group has made an LP commitment to the latest fund being raised by Israel-based VC firm Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP). It comes two months after the Chinese e-commerce giant made its first director investment in Israel.
JD.com invests in VC-backed Chinese payment platform Fenqile
Chinese online retailer JD.com has invested in Fenqille.com, a Chinese installment payment platform backed by several VC investors.
Malaysia's Ekuinas buys mobile payments firm, school chain
Ekuinas, the Malaysian government-backed private equity investor, has acquired two companies - mobile payment platform Tranglo and private school chain Tenby Educare - for a total MYR124 million($33.8 million).
PE-backed Asia-targeted remittance service raises $12.5m
Remitly, a US-based remittance service that targets Asian expatriates, has raised $12.5 million in a Series B funding round led by DFJ.
India mobile payment start-up raises Series B round
India-based mobile payment provider Mosambee has raised a Series B round of funding from Rajasthan Venture Capital Fund (RVCF) and existing investor SIDBI Venture Capital.
Valiant backs Mahindra-owned used car trading platform
Indian used car trading platform Mahindra First Choice Wheels (MFCWL) has raised $15 million from Valiant Capital Management, a San Francisco-based hedge fund. It will take a minority stake in the business.
Vertex to support parenting site's India expansion
Vertex Ventures, a VC subsidiary of Singapore's Temasek Holdings, has led a funding round for online parenting portal theAsianparent, bringing the total raised by the site to S$4.5 million ($3.3 million).
IFC proposes $20m investment in India's NxtGen Technology
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is considering an investment of up to $20 million in Indian IT data center construction and management firm NxtGen Technology, in a deal that will involve both equity and debt.
Japan's Rakuten to acquire VC-backed US eBook firm
Japan's Rakuten will pay $410 million to acquire US-based digital book marketplace OverDrive from Insight Venture Partners, a US private equity and venture capital firm.
China’s Tiantu commits $32m in dining mobile app
Chinese consumer-focused GP Tiantu Capital has invested RMB200 million ($32 million) in a Series A round of funding for Kaizhuo, a mobile app can be used to make restaurant bookings and payments.
China’s Addor Capital to buy assets from travel site eLong
Addor Capital, a private equity firm owned by China’s Govtor Capital, has agreed to buy a subsidiary of US-listed online travel site eLong for RMB76.5 million ($12.2 million).
Taiwan incubator AppWorks raises $50m start-up fund
AppWorks, a Taiwanese incubator, has raised NT$1.5 billion ($50 million) for a new fund to support domestic internet start-ups.
VC-backed Snapdeal buys stake in logistics platform
Jasper Infotech, the VC-backed enterprise behind Indian online marketplace Snapdeal, has bought a 20% stake in QuickDel Logistics, operator of e-commerce logistics platform Gojavas.
KKR joins $170m round for China used car trading platform
KKR has teamed up with search giant Baidu and US-based hedge fund sponsor Coatue to invest $170 million in Uxin, a Chinese online used car auction company best known for B2B platform Youxinpai.
Indonesia start-ups: Growth inflection
Indonesia has relatively incubators, angels and entrepreneurs with businesses of investible quality. Does the recent large investment in Tokopedia suggest the start-up ecosystem is now coming of age?
Q&A: Tokopedia's William Tanuwijaya
Despite initial local skepticism and competition from global rivals, Tokopedia has become Indonesia’s leading online marketplace, securing $100 million from SoftBank and Sequoia Capital last year. CEO William Tanuwijaya charts the journey
India Value Fund commits $50m to taxi firm Meru
India Value Fund Advisors (IVFA) has injected a fresh $50 million in radio taxi service Meru Cab, and is understood to be in talks to invest an additional $100 million in the next two months.
China’s Cheetah Mobile buys VC-backed mobile ad network
Cheetah Mobile, a US-listed Chinese internet security software provider backed by Matrix Partners and Tencent Holdings, has purchased VC-backed mobile ad network MobPartner for $58 million.
TA Associates, Far East Horizon back China’s YeePay
TA Associates has invested an undisclosed sum in YeePay, a Chinese payments provider that has previously received backing from several VC players. Hong Kong-listed financial leasing business Far East Horizon also contributed to the investment.
Japanese ticketing platform gets $5m Series B round
Japanese online ticketing platform Peatix has raised $5 million in a Series B round of funding led by DG Incubation, with strategic investment from SPH Media Fund and Japanese media company Sunny Side Up.
China P2P car-sharing site uuzuche raises $10m
Uuzuche.com, a Chinese peer-to-peer (P2P) car-sharing platform backed by Lightspeed China Partners, has raised $10 million in a Series A+ round of funding from Bitauto, a Chinese auto information web portal.
Japanese restaurant app Retty raises $8.2m
Fidelity Growth Partners Japan has led a JPY1 billion ($8.24 million) Series C investment in Retty, a Japanese social restaurant guide. Existing investors also took part.
Indian game developer Moonfrog raises Series A round
Indian mobile gaming start-up Moonfrog has raised $15 million in a Series A round of funding led by Tiger Global and existing investor Sequoia Capital.
Rocket Internet leads $110m round for Foodpanda
Emerging markets-focused food delivery app Foodpanda has raised another $110 million in a funding round led by its Germany-based parent Rocket Internet. A number of existing and new backers also took part.