Warburg Pincus managing director and head of Southeast Asia Jeffrey Perlman sees a good opportunity for some of the regional technology players to go public over the next few years.
Speaking at a fireside chat session – The Battle for Southeast Asia – at the Asia PE-VC Summit 2020, Perlman said, “Public market investors do want more exposure to Southeast Asia. They just don’t have another way to access it other than for this next wave of companies to eventually list.”
Perlman pointed out that tech businesses have not intentionally delayed their public listing. “They need to demonstrate proof of concept for their business and eventually a path to profitability for public market investors to be receptive. I think we’re now reaching that inflection point where some are being able to demonstrate that,” Perlman reasoned.
He also observed that businesses in SE Asia need a fair opportunity like their counterparts in other markets like China and India to use capital to grow before turning profitable.
