In one of the most significant developments last week, the Singapore Exchange (SGX) outlined a proposed framework for the listing of SPACs, indicating its serious intent to capitalise on the SPAC boom seen in global markets. It set a minimum market capitalisation of $223 million for the SPAC vehicle, confirming an earlier story done by DealStreetAsia.
In other SPAC-related news in the city-state, Catcha Investment Corp filed for its second blank cheque company targeting “new economy” sectors in the Asia Pacific region. The firm is looking to raise up to $250 million in an IPO, showed an SEC filing.
Other fundraising news
B Capital Group raised $415 million for a new fund that will provide follow-on capital to high-performing portfolio companies. It brought the VC’s total assets under management to $1.9 billion.
In China, Yunfeng Capital, a PE firm co-founded by Alibaba’s Jack Ma, has hit the market again to raise its fourth fund, less than three years after raising $2.5 billion for Yunfeng Fund III. The corpus its eyeing this time could not be ascertained.
Meanwhile, PE firm Boyu Capital has filed to raise a new fund barely two months after it closed its latest US dollar-denominated vehicle with a reported $3.6 billion in committed capital.
PE behemoth Warburg Pincus, too, is in the market to raise a $1.5-billion Asia real estate fund. The firm entered Asia in 1994 and has invested over $17 billion in more than 170 companies in China, India, and Southeast Asia.
In Singapore, Verge HealthTech Fund closed its maiden vehicle at around $7.6 million after a delay of about a year due to pandemic-induced disruptions, its managing partner Joseph Mocanu told us in an interaction.
Deals corner
Indonesian online stock brokerage platform Ajaib Group raised an additional investment of $65 million in its Series A round led by Silicon Valley fintech investor Ribbit Capital. The funding comes after Ajaib raised $25 million in January for the same round.
In Singapore, neo-banking startup StashFin completed raising $40 million to expand its operations across South Asia. While the company is already present in India, it is now looking to tap newer markets such as Nepal and Sri Lanka in South Asia, its founder & CEO Tushar Aggarwal told us.
Singapore-based wealth management platform Endowus raised S$23 million ($17 million) in a Series A round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, with participation from SoftBank Ventures Asia.
China’s corporate training service Yunxuetang entered the unicorn club after raising $190 million. The investment, which flowed into the company in two tranches, marked the Series E round for the company.
In yet another transaction in China, supply chain financing platform Jiangsu Yincheng Network Technology Co Ltd raised 500 million yuan ($76.3 million) in a Series C round led by GL Ventures and DCM.
In India, homegrown PE giant ChrysCapital is understood to be investing $100 million in drug manufacturer Corona Remedies. Sources told us that the proposed transaction will pave the exit for Malaysian PE firm Creador from the company, giving it an almost 4x return.
In-depth pieces
Canadian pension fund CDPQ is bullish on investment prospects across various sectors in the Southeast Asia region, its managing director and Asia Pacific head Leong Wai Leng told DealStreetAsia. The Southeast Asia region currently accounts for a minority investment allocation, she added.
In Indonesia, a host of investment platforms such as Ajaib, Stockbit, among other Robinhood-like apps are stoking the retail investing frenzy, thereby prompting millennials and Gen Z on social media to enter the stock market.
In a separate development, Halodoc, a health-tech platform in the archipelago, has been forced to shut down one of its business units after failing to cope up with the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic. Its CEO and co-founder Jonathan Sudharta told us that the management has taken the decision to wind up the business as it got fewer drug orders at hospitals during the pandemic.
In Vietnam, founders are increasingly hopping onto the VC bandwagon, betting big on the country’s nascent startup ecosystem. According to data available with Do Ventures, deals clocked during the first half of 2020 saw increased participation of local firms and foreign investors.
Following a distress trade sale to a special purpose vehicle in October last year, Singapore-based Zimplistic, the company that manufactures the fully-automated flatbread maker Rotimatic, is giving shape to a revival plan that will ride on balancing growth and financial sustainability.
In an interview, Lightspeed China founding partner James Mi told us that he expects to close more deals this year, especially in enterprise services and deep tech, while taking on more limited partners (LPs) as interest in China portfolios is flying high. “Although trade frictions persist, all top institutional investors are looking at China as the biggest venture investment market outside the United States, much bigger than any other markets,” he said.
