This week we brought you the monthly startup funding activity from across three major markets we track – SE Asia, India, and Greater China.
Greater China’s dealmaking activity saw its coldest winter in September as investors sealed a meagre 144 deals, the lowest since March 2022. The deal count was down 12.7% from the previous month. Privately held companies in Greater China raised around $3 billion in September, down 55.7% from the previous month, according to DealStreetAsia’s proprietary data. This was a far cry from the peak of $4.8 billion in the same month last year.
In SE Asia, startup fundraising remained subdued in September, as large-ticket investments remained scarce and the number of equity deals dropped to a 12-month low. The total amount raised from equity transactions also dipped to the third lowest so far this year at $230.4 million, a 27% drop from about $314 million in August, our data shows. The absence of megadeals continued to suppress the total capital raised in September.
After a robust month for dealmaking in August, Indian startups witnessed a marginal dip in funding in September as they collectively raked in about $1.6 billion from 121 transactions. In August, Indian startups had scooped up $1.76 billion across 109 transactions. At 121, the deal volume was, however, up 11% month on month. On a year-on-year basis, the funding grew nearly 33% from $1.19 billion in September 2023. Deal volume also surged 63.5% from 74 in the comparable period last year.
Deal news
In our top scoop this week, we reported that Saudi Arabian venture capitalist Beta Lab is said to be in discussions to buy over 80% of the portfolio of MDI Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of Indonesian state-owned telecom firm Telkom, in what could be one of the largest selloffs in the country’s startup sector.
Besides the need for liquidity, the opportunity for MDI to hand over its holdings in local startups to the Middle Eastern investor could give the Indonesian CVC a reset after it paused fresh investments and delayed commitments due to a recent internal scrutiny that was allegedly prompted by performance concerns at the portfolio level.
In other headlines, one of Indonesia’s largest ready-to-drink tea companies, Sinar Sosro, which is part of conglomerate Rekso International, is considering selling a stake in a deal that could be worth as much as $100 million.
Indonesian conglomerate Astra International has acquired Heartology Cardiovascular Hospital, one of the largest private cardiac centres in the country, in a deal valued at about $41 million.
Singapore’s digital healthcare provider WhiteCoat Global announced the acquisition of peer Good Doctor Indonesia, marking a significant consolidation in the sector. WhiteCoat has also secured new funding led by the Raffles Family Office, with MDI Ventures and the SoftBank Vision Fund joining as new investors following the acquisition.
Indonesian conglomerate Emtek has bought an additional 9.54% stake in Bukalapak, raising its total ownership to 10.36% for a consideration of around $75.24 million.
Singapore-based cybersecurity company watchTowr announced a $19-million Series A funding round led by Peak XV Partners, confirming a DealStreetAsia report earlier in the week on the company’s fundraising.
Chickin, an Indonesian poultry startup, has closed a new Series A round led by Granite Asia, per regulatory filings.
Salmon, a Philippines-based consumer fintech startup backed by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ, has announced raising $30 million in its Series A-2 equity round.
Shares of Indonesia-listed e-commerce major Bukalapak have seen a significant rise during the week following the market buzz of a potential acquisition by Chinese online retailer Temu.
Takeaways from Asia PE-VC Summit 2024
We continued to bring you coverage from our Asia PE-VC Summit held in Singapore last month.
From our LP track, we analysed how fundraising in China continues to decline amid a lacklustre exit environment and persistent geopolitical tensions, a few US-based limited partners are still actively, albeit cautiously, dabbling in the country’s private equity.
Will this be the decade of capitalisation? Market participants in Asia’s secondaries sector are citing execution risks as the key reason for large continuation funds being scrapped prematurely, cutting off an option for private equity investors to hold on to their portfolio assets for longer.
From the Climate Tech and ESG track, we looked at how blended finance is gaining momentum among fundraisers in emerging markets, but impact investors in Asia see limited upside in including junior tranche and other forms of de-risking tools within private equity and venture capital fund structures.
Lastly, investments in the electric vehicles space are disproportionately flowing towards personal mobility, whereas investors should also be focusing on the B2B sector.
We have already started working on our upcoming Indonesia PE-VC Summit 2025. Watch this space for more updates and register now for the summit in Jakarta to dive into dominant themes unfolding in SE Asia’s maximum market.
LP-GP quarters
Ares Management will acquire the international business of Singapore-based GLP Capital Partners for $3.7 billion. The deal excludes its operations in Greater China.
Hamilton Lane has launched two evergreen funds that offer expanded access to private market infrastructure investments to accredited investors around the world.
India’s largest sovereign-linked alternative asset manager National Investment and Infrastructure Fund’s Private Markets Fund 1 (PMF-1) has successfully realised and returned capital and profits to investors. In The LP View this week, NIIF managing partner (private markets) Anand Unnikrishnan told DealStreetAsia PMF-1 “may opportunistically recycle previously distributed capital into new investments”.
Piramal Alternatives, a unit of Piramal Group that is owned by Indian billionaire entrepreneur Ajay Piramal, has earmarked an initial corpus of about $200 million for a fund-of-funds strategy as it looks to back both private equity and venture capital firms.
We also examined how a backlog of unrealised exits is creating a big dilemma for Southeast Asia’s private equity industry. For a lot of global investors, this brings déjà vu of the 2008 global financial crisis when performance in the industry had taken a heavy hit. The region faces a reality check as there are fewer distributions to LPs, deterring their faith in the asset class.
Principal Southeast Asia, a joint venture between Principal Financial Group and CIMB Group, has identified private credit and direct lending strategies to mark its presence in the region’s private capital space.
Antler has closed its second Australian fund at $77 million, exceeding its target of $60 million, AFR reported.
Asia Investor Group on Climate Change, a group of institutional investors managing over $3.5 trillion in assets, has urged Korea’s Financial Services Commission to develop a clear roadmap for sustainability and climate-related disclosures by 2026. Members of the group include AIA, Allianz Global Investors, CalPERS, GIC, and Federated Hermes.
Hong Kong-based MindWorks Capital, which counts logistics unicorn Lalamove among its portfolio firms, has closed its fourth fund at $220 million.
India’s Cactus Partners is betting on IPOs as a key exit route with expectations that roughly one-third of its portfolio companies have the potential to list on the stock market.
Indian non-banking financial company Northern Arc has launched its performing credit fund with a target corpus of $178.7 million.
From our India desk
While India’s favourable IPO climate has helped PE and VC investors unlock lucrative exit opportunities, it has also created challenges as late-stage companies, particularly in the tech sector, now feel emboldened to seek higher valuations that match that of their listed peers.
Shell Ventures-backed solar energy solutions provider Orb Energy is in talks with investors for its Series D round. It is aiming to raise nearly $48 million in a mix of equity and debt.
Computer scientist Andrew Ng-led AI Fund has invested in an Indian artificial intelligence healthcare firm named Jivi, the fund’s first such investment in the country.
BioPrime, an Indian agbiotech startup, has raised $6 million in its Series A funding round anchored by Belgium-based private impact fund Edaphon, marking its first investment in Asia.
Earnings and financials
Singapore-based UnaBiz and its subsidiaries posted lower losses in 2023 as the IoT services provider reversed certain payables during the year while revenues grew, regulatory filings show. For the financial year ended December 31, 2023, UnaBiz and its subsidiaries reported revenue of $32.4 million, a 21% increase from 2022’s $26.7 million.
Thai ride-hailing and food delivery startup LINE MAN Wongnai logged a gross profit in 2023, its first since at least 2021, helped by rising revenues. The unicorn, backed by Singapore’s GIC, also managed to cut its cost of sales and trim its comprehensive loss for the year, according to recent regulatory filings.
