| 1. Fundraising gains momentum in India despite slowdown fears |
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LPs committed a whopping $6.25 billion across 41 India-dedicated funds in the first six months of 2022.
While this is the highest in the last four years, the key question is how long will it take for them to actually deploy the amount as the startup ecosystem signals a slowdown in dealmaking.
A part of the capital committed is reflective of sentiments in 2021 and maybe earlier this year. However, things have suddenly changed now.
- How does the road look ahead in terms of investment opportunities and exits amidst fears of global economic slowdown?
- Will the current environment lead to a tempering of valuations in 2022 and beyond?
- The tepid IPO market and its impact on late-stage funding activity.
- Are the days of frenetic unicorn rounds over?
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| 2. Specialist healthcare-focused funds come into spotlight |
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| As India gradually limps out of the COVID crisis, investors are getting ready with dedicated healthcare funds to cash in on the huge unmet demand for healthcare services.
The sector saw total funding of over $7 billion as of last year. Currently, there are over 8,500 healthcare startups, of which more than 900 are funded. Going forward, the number is only expected to go up with opportunities emerging in all spheres like hospitals, delivery services, pharma and life sciences, med tech, associated healthcare services, consumer healthcare and health tech.
- What is the outlook for specialist funds, specifically healthcare-oriented vehicles?
- What are the challenges to deal sourcing and pipeline as these sectors are among hot bets for sector-agnostic funds as well?
- How do fund managers guard themselves against sector-specific headwinds?
- What are the new niches and opportunities that are driving healthcare-focused funds in a market like India?
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| 3. Post-pandemic, has edtech in India fallen out of favour? |
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| After amassing hordes of capital in the wake of the pandemic in 2020, edtech startups are now staring at a funding winter and valuation correction. Those that have been impacted the most are the ones operating in the K-12 segment.
Edtech fell to eighth place in terms of fundraising in April-June 2022. It was the second most-funded vertical in Jan-March 2022. India’s edtech startups raised $290.4 million in Q2, 80% lower than the $1.4 billion amassed in the preceding quarter, DealStreetAsia’s proprietary data shows.
- What does the future hold for edtech startups in India?
- Does their business model need a reset?
- What about startups that provide online higher education courses for working professionals?
- What are the new opportunities and niches that will capture venture dollars?
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| 4. Time for private credit to shine in Asia |
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While the private debt market currently in Asia is currently minuscule compared to global markets, and largely untapped, there is an anticipated demand for such non-bank, long-term financing for growth enterprises. Global PE majors have readied billions of dollars of private credit capital to deploy in the region. This panel will explore:
- The top sectors and markets that will drive private credit growth in Asia.
- A look into the regulatory landscape across top markets like India, China, SE Asia, and North Asia when it comes to private credit.
- How is the risk-return profile evolving for private debt investors in Asia and what is the outlook ahead?
- With a spate of bad loans turning mainstream banks wary in countries like India, will private credit emerge as a core financing tool by filling the gap left by lenders?
- What is the scope and outlook for special situations and distressed debt financing?
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5. How is private equity in Asia riding the downcycle? |
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2021 was a record fundraising year for private equity (PE) firms globally and Asia was no exception.
But global market volatility, rising geopolitical risks, and growth and inflation concerns have characterised much of 2022 so far.
- Will the macro-environment impact private equity in Asia?
- What effect is record dry powder having on the industry?
- Should fund managers be doing anything differently?
- What is the exit outlook for private equity investments?
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| 6. The LP View: Backing emerging market and first-time managers in adverse times |
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| The global economic uncertainty and a shift in focus towards sustainable growth are widely expected to impact the fundraising prospects for new vehicles, especially those focused on emerging markets or launched by first-time managers.
There were 79 SE Asia-focused venture capital funds in the market to raise $7.6 billion as of December 2021, per DealStreetAsia data. In terms of PE fundraising, a total of 34 SE Asia-focused funds were raising $6.87 billion at the same time.
- As Asia continues to present key growth opportunities, how are dynamics between LPs and GPs evolving?
- In the current environment, how should emerging managers approach LPs?
- Will the going be tougher for first-time fund managers raising debut vehicles?
- Will operating across different cycles prove to be an advantage?
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| 7. The art and science of balancing values vs value in impact investing |
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| Investing with the intent of combining profit with purpose is no longer only the domain of development finance institutions or philanthropic organisations.
While the global market for impact investments was estimated at around $2.3 trillion in 2020, East and Southeast Asia have emerged among the fastest-growing regions for such investments. With major global institutional LPs pushing for ESG and impact mandates and larger PE players raising dedicated ESG vehicles, the market is ripe for impact investing moving beyond token investments.
- How does investing with purpose drive better returns?
- Even as allocation to the sector grows, where are the sectors that can do with more capital?
- The importance of due diligence and measuring the impact outcome: How evolved is that process?
- How do managers and LPs respond to “impact washing”?
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| 8. The rise of family offices in Asia’s alt asset landscape |
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| The private markets are seeing the rise of a serious investor class – the family office.
With the emerging macroeconomic concerns around high inflation, central bank liquidity and rising interest rates, family offices are re-assessing their allocations towards private equity. Alternatives represent about 35% of all asset allocations by APAC family offices, with PE remaining a core focus.
- What’s driving the rise of family offices’ allocation to private markets?
- How do they change the investment landscape and what does this mean for PE firms?
- What new perspectives and insights do they bring to the table?
- Which are the markets within Asia that family offices will increase their allocations to? Is there a capital shift from China to the rest of Asia?
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| 9. Democratising access to private markets |
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| Private markets are looking at widening their investor base and tapping a new pool of capital by allowing access to accredited individual investors. Several private exchanges have sprung up to facilitate these transactions, and provide a liquidity option for investors.
Tokenisation – the digitisation of an asset using blockchain and smart contract technology – too is becoming a fast-growing avenue for PE majors to secure capital from the hitherto untapped market. This panel will explore threads such as:-
- The opportunities, and demand-and-supply dynamics behind expanding access to high-returning private markets
- The opportunities and challenges for private exchanges
- The outlook and depth of the secondary market on private exchanges
- The longer-term outlook for tokenisation in fundraising.
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