Our top stories this week looked at differing developments across the PE and VC worlds as investors and companies reassess their priorities in a challenging environment.
The scoops
Indonesia’s sovereign wealth fund INA will partner with a Middle Eastern SWF to make a strategic investment in Pertamina Geothermal Energy‘s (PGE) upcoming IPO. PGE is looking to raise up to $650 million by selling a 25% stake.
Philippines-focused discount retail chain DALI Stores has secured funding from private equity firms Creador and Navegar. Malaysia-based Creador invested $55 million, but Navegar’s investment, through two tranches, was not disclosed.
Indonesian hospital operator Pertamedika IHC is raising more than $300 million from private investors as it builds a new hospital in Bali.
And, confirming our report in August last year, Indonesian agritech startup EdenFarm has raised $13.5 million in fresh funds from investors, including Telkomsel and AC Ventures, according to an announcement this week.
Startups in Indonesia’s farming sector have seen significant growth over the last two years. Another player, aquaculture startup eFishery, told DealStreetAsia that it is ramping up exports amid growing demand from customers abroad.
Trendspotting
Another sector that continues to see investor demand is logistics tech, given the scope for consolidation and digitalisation in the industry. A number of players in Indonesia, in particular, are in the market raising fresh capital, bucking the broader fundraising slump, and positioning for growth.
Also in Indonesia, we’ve picked up on the growing interest of Japanese investors in the country’s digital businesses. Already, the biggest players are major owners in the financial services industry and are looking to back more fintech companies.
In the latest development, two units of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group have set up a $100 million fund with Indonesia’s Bank Danamon to invest in local companies.
Other sectors of interest could include electric vehicles and batteries, given Indonesia’s ambitions in the area.
Coming to market
This week saw two blank cheque vehicles announce mergers for listing on Nasdaq.
Both are Chinese businesses: Cheche Technology, an auto insurtech company backed by Tencent and Shunwei Capital, will merge with Prime Impact Acquisition I, sponsored by former Western Digital executives, while global consumer-focused PE firm L Catterton‘s vehicle announced a merger with car maker Lotus Tech, as it gets ready to roll out its luxury electric vehicles.
This is when most of the vehicles listed during the 2020-2021 SPAC boom are coming to the end of the two-year period to find a target. Expect more announcements to come, including requests for extensions.
Separately, a number of Vietnamese companies are also eyeing public listings in the US, and this piece looks at their prospects.
Raising capital
Singapore-based freight management platform Freightify raised $12 million in a Series A funding round led by Sequoia Capital India and Sequoia Capital Southeast Asia.
India-based industrial real estate developer and manager IndoSpace has secured $205 million from Canadian pension fund CPP Investments for the first close of its latest logistics fund.
Philippine early-stage VC Foxmont Capital Partners has secured $21.3 million for its second fund, exceeding its $20 million target. LPs in the fund include Pavilion Capital, AppWorks, and Orient Growth.
Meanwhile, US venture capital firm Firebolt Ventures is looking to raise $100 million for its new fund, quadrupling the size of its last vehicle. The firm focuses on seed and early-stage startups and has backed companies, including Slide and Nasdaq-listed Coupa.
Repositioning
China’s e-commerce giant JD.com is pulling out of operations in Indonesia and Thailand to focus on its cross-border logistics and warehousing businesses instead.
Indian foodtech unicorn Zomato has quit the Philippines, its first market in Southeast Asia.
Meanwhile, Indian edtech unicorn BYJU’s has laid off another 1,200 people, and more are expected to follow.
The Parentinc, which runs theAsianparent.com platform, reported a twofold increase in revenues but widening losses for 2021, as employee benefit expenses rose, the company’s regulatory filings showed. The Parentinc CEO and founder Roshni Mahtani told DealStreetAsia that the expenses were due to the company launching digital retail operations in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.
Taiwan’s Fubon Life Insurance has sold a portion of its holdings in Tiger Global Management at a loss of $12.4 million, it said in a regulatory disclosure. It still has some $36 million worth of shares. The insurer had committed a total of $130 million to Tiger Global’s funds.
Still, Tiger Global has been comparatively successful, particularly in India, where it backed five out of 13 profitable unicorns, according to our review of its investments.
Finally, on the back of rising geopolitical tensions, Canada’s Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan said it will suspend future direct investments in private assets in China.
Bright spots
GPs and startups in Southeast Asia and India can look forward to potential commitments from the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), which is expecting to ramp up engagement in the region, a top executive told us.
Indonesian B2B marketplace GudangAda is eyeing new revenue streams from lending and point-of-sale services, the company’s management told DealStreetAsia. The startup, backed by investors including Asia Partners, Sequoia Capital India, and Alpha JWC, began as a marketplace for SMEs and has raised more than $135 million so far.
Singapore-based Blockchain Founders Fund is looking for deals in the areas of blockchain, crypto, Web3, and the metaverse. The early-stage venture firm recently closed its second fund at $75 million from investors, including NEO Global Capital, Metavest Capital, and LD Capital.
Thailand’s Bualuang Ventures is planning a new vehicle of up to $90 million from parent Bangkok Bank to invest in startups after deploying $18 million into three companies last year. Its investments were LINE MAN Wongnai, FinAccel, and Star Money Public Company.
And Singapore-based Openspace Ventures is back in the market to raise capital, looking at a combined $650 million across two vehicles targeting startups in varying stages of growth.
