Indonesian B2B marketplace Ula, which counts Peak XV Partners, Lightspeed and B Capital among its investors, is understood to have paused operations for “several months”. The firm is said to be exploring options for now, including pivoting to supply chain financing.
Ula has raised over $141 million in funding to date. Its move comes at a time when the FMCG supply chain, especially involving micro and small retailers or warungs, is facing challenging times in Indonesia, given that retail is typically a low-margin business.
Group-buying startup Kitabeli closed down operations a few months ago, while Lummo entered into voluntary liquidation.
In Singapore, Rocket Internet-backed Flash Coffee has been downsizing its operations mere months after closing a $50-million Series B round in July. The regional grab-and-go coffee chain has been temporarily closing or shutting some of its stores in the city-state. It has also pulled out of various markets, including Japan and Taiwan, in recent months.
The downsizing comes at a time of rising competition among regional coffee chains in Southeast Asia.
Indonesian venture-backed players like Kopi Kenangan and Fore Coffee have started expanding outside their home market, while Chinese-backed coffee chains such as Luckin Coffee and Cotti Coffee are gearing up for multi-store openings across the region. At the same time, new local players have emerged in Malaysia (Zus Coffee) and the Philippines (PICKUP COFFEE).
Moving onto other headlines this week.
LP-GP news
India and Southeast Asia-focused DSG Consumer Partners has hit the final close of its fourth fund at $114 million, in line with the vehicle’s target. The firm’s managing director and founder, Deepak Shahdadpuri, said, commenting on the fundraising milestone, “Most LPs understood the India opportunity, and they also started appreciating the potential of insurgent brands to get market share.”
The UK-based development finance institution British International Investment, which had earmarked up to 500 million pounds (over $600 million) for climate-related investments in Southeast Asia through 2026, intends to allocate around half of it to debt investments.
In the LP View this week, Geetali Kumar, Regional Lead for Venture Capital and Disruptive Technologies for East and Southeast Asia at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), said that while SE Asia has experienced a somewhat lower impact from global macro headwinds compared to other regions, it still needs committed investors in challenging times.
Asian pension funds aim to rack up their allocation to alternative assets as they look for higher returns while tackling inflation, according to a new report by research firm Cerulli Associates.
Deep dives and interviews
It’s been two years since Vertex Holdings listed its first blank cheque vehicle on the SGX, and it’s finally found its perfect match in 17LIVE, a pure-play live-streaming platform based in Japan and Taiwan. We took a detailed look at how this move impacts SE Asia’s tech ecosystem.
Foreign investors have the potential to make or break upcoming tech IPOs in India as domestic funds remain cautious about backing loss-making young ventures. In the first half of the year, foreign portfolio investors substantially hiked their holdings in Zomato, Delhivery, Paytm, Policybazaar and Nykaa, Nikkei Asia reported.
Malaysian venture capital firm Penjana Kapital‘s chief executive officer Taufiq Iskandar is “all up for” a merger of the company with its larger peer Malaysia Venture Capital Management (MAVCAP). The two state-backed firms have a very similar aim, which is to develop Malaysia’s VC sector, Taufiq told us.
Fundraising trail
Swiss impact investor Blue Earth Capital has announced raising $108.5 million for its second dedicated credit impact fund, surpassing its $100-million target.
500 Global is in the market for a new fund, about two years after it secured $140 million for the predecessor vehicle.
Global impact fund manager LeapFrog will hold the final close for its fourth flagship growth equity fund in February-end next year. The fund is seeking to raise $1 billion and has already raised a “significant share” from Hong Kong insurer AIA and Singapore’s Temasek.
Canadian alternative investment firm Brookfield Asset Management announced the closing of its latest flagship global private equity fund at $12 billion. It is the largest PE investment vehicle raised by Brookfield to date.
Payments processor Visa has launched a $100-million venture fund for generative AI startups.
Hong Kong-based Affinity Equity Partners has paused plans to launch a so-called continuation fund enabling itself and its investors to sell down their shares in companies because of unfavourable market conditions.
India’s quasi-SWF National Investment and Infrastructure Fund and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation have launched a $600-million fund to invest in sustainability projects.
Indian debt financier Northern Arc Capital‘s fund management unit, Northern Arc Investments, is considering launching a $100-million fund, reported Bloomberg.
Indian venture capitalist Omnivore is targeting to make the final close for its third fund by January next year.
Hong Kong-based crypto venture capital firm CMCC Global has raised $100 million to invest in blockchain firms in the city and beyond.
Singapore-based venture debt firm MARS Growth Capital has launched its first equity fund with an initial commitment of $500 million, marking its official foray into the equity space.
Layer 1 blockchain network aelf has announced the launch of a $50-million ecosystem fund that targets to invest in blockchain projects within its own and other multichain ecosystems.
East Ventures has announced a partnership with Seoul-based SV Investment to launch a new fund with a target corpus of $100 million.
Deal counter
ICICI Venture, the alternative investment arm of ICICI Bank, is in talks to invest in Indian ethnicwear brand Libas, which is currently busy carving out expansion plans to cash in on the ensuing festive season in the country.
South Korean IT firm Tech Comp is raising an $8-million funding round and is in advanced talks with a big domestic tech enterprise for the same. The funding could be upsized to as much as $15 million.
IFC is considering extending a $40-million loan to Drip Capital, a global cross-border trade finance platform. IFC is also mulling a proposal to extend a $56-million loan to Global IME Bank, the largest lender in Nepal.
Bain Capital has struck its first deal in Vietnam by investing at least $200 million in the conglomerate Masan Group.
Engine Biosciences, a Singapore- and Silicon Valley-based biotech company, has raised $5 million more in its Series A-3 funding round. The latest financing was backed by SEEDS Capital and Coronet Ventures.
Data-led stories and earnings
Fundraising in India bounced back in September after a lull of almost three months, with startups amassing nearly $1.2 billion across 74 private equity and venture capital transactions, according to proprietary data compiled by DealStreetAsia.
Indonesian B2B marketplace Ula‘s losses widened 2.3x for the financial year ended December 31, 2022, owing to increased cost of sales and higher expenses. The higher costs more than offset an over six-fold surge in revenue in the year.
Maya Innovations, the holding company of Philippines-based technology firm Voyager Innovations, saw its losses widen even as it posted higher revenues for the year ended December 31, 2022.
Thai food delivery startup LINE MAN Wongnai‘s revenue surged around 1.5x in the financial year ended December 31, 2022. However, the company failed to curb its losses which ballooned 25% during the period.
Vietnamese EV maker VinFast reported a 159% rise in third-quarter revenue as it ramped up car deliveries and sought to boost sales by partnering with dealers in the United States. VinFast, which is backed by Vietnam’s largest conglomerate Vingroup, is gearing up to strengthen its foothold overseas.
Alibaba-owned Lazada Southeast Asia saw its total comprehensive losses nearly double to $1.6 billion in the financial year ended December 31, 2022, from $863.7 million in the prior year on the back of surging expenses.
Indonesian B2B marketplace GudangAda reported a more than 10x jump in revenue year-on-year to $50.5 million during the financial year ended December 31, 2022. However, the company’s losses also surged 63% during the same period.
Rainforest Life, a Singapore-headquartered e-commerce brand aggregator, announced raising $21.5 million in convertible notes from existing investors even as its losses surged 5x in 2022.
Lastly, we are putting together the fifth edition of the Indonesia PE-VC Summit that will be held in Jakarta on January 25, 2024. You can be a part of the making of the summit by voting for themes that we are tracking editorially.
