This week, DealStreetAsia’s DATA VANTAGE released its latest report, India Deal Review: Q2 2024.
The report showed that Q2 was a mega quarter for Indian startups as a 57% year-on-year surge in megadeals drove fundraising to an eight-quarter high of $5.2 billion. In June alone, private funding for local startups exceeded $2 billion, a milestone not seen in the past two years.
The second-quarter proceeds marked a nearly 100% growth over Q1 2024, when Indian startups had garnered $2.61 billion. At 333, deal volume was also up almost 15% from 290 in the previous quarter, the data showed.
On a year-on-year basis, the funding grew more than 61% from $3.22 billion in Q2 2023. The deal value rose nearly 34% from the comparable quarter last year.
The report also includes data on the top deals of Q2 2024, the top sectors by fundraising, megadeals clocked by startups, the most active investors, and insights from prominent investors, among other things.
Scroll down for the other developments of the week.
LP-GP news
Private equity (PE) firm L Catterton Asia is eyeing a corpus of about $500 million for its first India-dedicated investment vehicle, DealStreetAsia has learnt. It is also looking to raise an investment vehicle for the Japan market, said sources.
Global investment manager Schroders Capital prizes alignment of interest with general partners, or fund managers, as a key factor when making continuation fund investments. However, several other factors play a crucial role in the decision-making, says its global head of private equity secondaries, Christiaan van der Kam.
Danish investment firm Novo Holdings is bullish on new opportunities in green transition as it plans to increase allocation to the sector to 10% by 2030 from 2% today.
Goldman Sachs aims to raise $2 billion for its first Asia Pacific-focused PE fund, two people with knowledge of the bank’s fundraising plan said, as it looks to deepen exposure to some of the world’s fastest-growing economies.
Singapore state investor Temasek plans to invest up to $10 billion in India over three years in sectors such as financial services and healthcare, a top executive said on Monday, favouring the South Asian nation as it turns cautious on China.
Warburg Pincus has named veteran insider Jeffrey Perlman its next chief executive officer, in only the third generation of leadership for the PE firm in its nearly 60-year history.
While climate-focused investors lament the few investible opportunities in Southeast Asia due to high perceived risks, the rise of blended finance is expected to alter the landscape for private investors, including limited partners (LPs).
Seviora Group, an asset manager wholly owned by Singapore’s Temasek, is acquiring a minority stake in Hong Kong-headquartered private credit manager ADM Capital.
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) will invest $5 billion to support Vietnam in its shift towards a sustainable and green economy, AIIB president Jin Liqun announced during a recent visit to the country.
Listed Swiss investment firm Youngtimers AG has approved an offer to wholly acquire Hong Kong’s C Capital, an asset manager founded by Hong Kong real estate tycoon Adrian Cheng.
Stellaris Venture Partners, an early-stage investment firm and backer of Indian unicorns Mamaearth and Glance, is seeking to raise $300 million for its third fund.
Alternative financing firm Anicut Capital has closed its maiden late-stage equity continuum fund of Rs 300 crore ($36 million) to invest in companies preparing for an IPO in the next 2-4 years.
Yali Capital, a venture capital firm floated by Cosmic Circuits co-founder Ganapathy Subramaniam and former Blackstone executive Mathew Cyriac, has launched a Rs 810-crore ($97 million) fund to invest in early-stage deep tech startups in India.
Deal updates
Singapore’s GIC is weighing an exit from two of its prominent portfolio companies, Indonesia-listed Bukalapak and PT Elang Mahkota Teknologi Tbk (aka Emtek), several sources familiar with the matter told DealStreetAsia.
Zetwerk, an Indian unicorn that undertakes contract manufacturing of capital and consumer goods, has initiated talks to raise funding from CapitalG, the investment unit of Google parent Alphabet, multiple sources familiar with the matter told DealStreetAsia.
Indonesia-based ice cream maker Aice Group Holdings, which is backed by Chinese consumer major China Mengniu Dairy, is understood to be in the market to raise over $100 million through a mix of primary and secondary deals.
Chinese automotive chipmaker SemiDrive Technology has pocketed 1 billion yuan ($137.7 million) in strategic funding.
Indian EV ride-hailing firm BluSmart has closed a pre-Series B funding round worth $24 million to expand its footprint in the country.
Philippines-based Hann Resorts is planning an initial public offering worth up to 20 billion pesos ($342.2 million) as the integrated casino-resort operator seeks to cash in on the booming gambling sector.
Philippine proptech startup Lhoopa has raised $80 million in equity and debt in its latest funding round backed by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and VC firm Wavemaker Partners.
Amity Solutions, a Bangkok-based multiproduct software group, and its parent company, Amity Corporation, have raised a combined $60 million in a Series C funding round.
Southeast Asian VC firm East Ventures has anchored the seed funding round of Singapore-based takeaway kiosk operator Har Har Chicken!, according to an announcement. Regulatory filings accessed by DealStreetAsia showed that the startup has raised $850,000 in the round.
Chinese biopharmaceutical firm AusperBio has raised $37 million in a Series A round led by InnoPinnacle Fund as it looks to expand its operations.
Auxilo Finserve, a leading non-banking finance company focused on providing education finance in India, is raising Rs 279 crore ($33.4 million) in a funding round led by LeapFrog Investments.
Dharana Capital, an India-focused investment firm, has invested over Rs 400 crore (about $48 million) in home services startup Urban Company through a secondary transaction.
Prowess Advisors, an advisory firm that took over early-stage venture fund Kalpavriksh from Mumbai-based asset manager Centrum Alternatives in 2023, has exited its investment in The Ayurveda Experience, a D2C beauty and health Ayurveda brand.
US-based battery maker Peak Energy has raised $55 million in a Series A funding round anchored by Xora Innovation, the early-stage deep tech investment arm of Temasek Holdings.
Earnings call
Social media platform TikTok’s Asia Pacific unit recorded its first gross profit in 2023, driven by strong revenue growth in its advertising and live-streaming businesses, according to regulatory filings. TikTok Pte, the ByteDance-owned company’s APAC subsidiary, saw a 56% year-on-year increase in revenue to $8.57 billion last year.
Tonik Financial, the parent company of Philippines-based digital lender Tonik Digital Bank, posted lower year-on-year losses in 2023, but its customer deposits shrank during the year, regulatory filings showed. Interest income, meanwhile, more than tripled to $19.8 million in the financial year ended December 31, 2023.
Indonesian grab-and-go coffee chain operator Kopi Kenangan’s net loss increased 70% to 452.5 billion rupiah ($30.5 million) in the financial year ended December 31, 2022. The firm has remained in the red after a profitable 2020.
Singapore-based digital lender MariBank’s total income surged in 2023, but its losses widened compared with the previous year. The wholly-owned subsidiary of NYSE-listed tech giant Sea Ltd’s total income for the financial year ended December 31, 2023, surged over 6x to S$10.1 million (about $7.5 million).
Singapore-based classifieds unicorn Carousell trimmed its losses by 40% in the financial year ended December 31, 2023, as it reined in costs, according to regulatory filings. Its revenue jumped 40% to $115.9 million in 2023, largely due to growth in its recommerce business, which allows users to trade their used goods on the platform.
Alternative asset manager Blackstone said its second-quarter distributable earnings rose 3% from a year earlier, as a jump in asset sales in its PE and credit divisions more than offset a slump in its real estate arm.
Deep dives
Southeast Asia remains an attractive destination for international investors, says AC Ventures managing partner Helen Wong. “We still see a lot of interest from those who are bullish on the region,” she said. “For example, we have attracted some Korean LPs who are quite interested in our part of the world. We have also attracted Middle East sovereigns, and family offices from Europe.”
Indonesia’s Financial Services Authority (OJK) plans to increase the disbursement limit for productive loans in the peer-to-peer (P2P) lending industry by about five times to support SMEs. However, there is a caveat. The rule will apply only to players with a bad debt ratio below 5%.
Mergers & acquisitions (M&As) in the software & IT space in Southeast Asia inched up in 2023 as digital transformation of businesses in the post-pandemic era has created high demand for web development, cloud computing, and ICT infrastructure. The software & IT sector witnessed 14 M&A deals in 2023, next only to fintech, according to the SE Asia Tech M&A Review 2024 report by DealStreetAsia – DATA VANTAGE.
After almost a decade marked by booms and busts, China’s internet medical service providers now face a soul-searching moment that will determine their future fortunes. The industry’s shine has faded as most companies still struggle to find sustainable business models. China’s slowing economy and cooling capital market have deepened the industry’s woes, forcing digital healthcare providers such as HaoDF, Chunyu Yisheng and Ping An Good Doctor to cut jobs while squeezing out some smaller competitors altogether.
Indonesian tech giant GoTo’s stock price has been languishing at an all-time low of 50 rupiah apiece since June 25 as big investors continue to sell the stock, according to Indonesian Stock Exchange (IDX) data. The stock price is down 85% from its listing price of 338 rupiah in April 2022.
The total gross merchandise value of Southeast Asia’s eight leading e-commerce platforms rose 15% year on year to $114.6 billion in 2023, according to a new report by Momentum Works. TikTok Shop almost quadrupled its annual GMV to $16.3 billion to emerge as the second-largest e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia.
A rising Thai food delivery star during the lockdown days has become the latest casualty of a red ocean market into which other former rivals have already flushed billions of baht in cumulative losses.
In the volatile startup ecosystem, failures are more common than successes. In Vietnam, several tech startups have folded or suspended operations in the last few years. While Skola was plagued by alleged financial management and JobHopin and Propzy by their inability to raise more funds, several other startups have tripped and fallen due to their inadequate understanding of target markets, weak leadership skills, or even regulatory hurdles, say industry experts.
Insolvency proceedings against Indian edtech giant Byju’s, once India’s biggest startup valued at $22 billion, will likely force thousands of employees to quit and result in a total shutdown of its services, its CEO said in a court filing seen by Reuters.
Kin Yat Holdings, a Hong Kong electronics manufacturer and trader that listed before the territory returned to China in 1997, is planning to go private as its mainland businesses, from manufacturing to real estate, struggle. The company is among a growing number of Hong Kong-listed companies planning to delist as equities markets in China continue to flounder.
And finally, a scoop of good news!
A spike in the sale of ice cream in India amid the scorching summer of 2024 seems to have caught the eye of investors. Several new-age ice cream brands in the country have raised funds from venture investors lately, as the summer treat has become more accessible thanks to the penetration of quick commerce apps, enhanced logistics, and higher disposable incomes. Enjoying a scoop and swirl no longer requires stepping out, freezer space, or even special occasions.
