These are the most challenging times for investors to navigate, as Singapore state investor Temasek’s CEO Dilhan Pillay said this week.
Temasek was reporting its performance for the year to 31 March 2026, presenting a portfolio that has doubled in value and substantially expanded across geographies and strategies over the past decade.
Our reporting this week covers what where it sees as opportunities for growth – particularly in private credit, AI, and sustainable development.
Deals and fundraising across Asia Pacific
Startup financing in Greater China saw a modest month-on-month (MoM) pullback in June, following record-breaking deals in May. Deal volume actually expanded, while funding value fell, and year-on-year (YoY) comparisons remain positive, reflecting a shift in deal composition, not a contraction in investor appetite. Startups headquartered in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan raised over $8.5 billion in June through the completion of 247 deals, according to proprietary data compiled by DealStreetAsia.
In India, startup funding in June rebounded sharply from a 28-month low to cross the $2 billion mark. This was driven by CRED’s $900-million fundraise. Deal volume also picked up during the month, recording 97 transactions compared with 75 in May, signalling broader participation from investors across stages.
In key deals this week, global PE firm Warburg Pincus is investing in Australian commercial credit reporting agency CreditorWatch, expanding its presence in Australia and marking its latest bet on data and information services.
Private equity giant TPG is understood to be in talks to acquire Singapore- and Hong Kong-based elderly-care platform Active Global. The sale process is being run by boutique investment bank Pickering Pacific, and the deal could value Active Global at around $60-100 million, according to people familiar with the matter.
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is mulling a loan of up to $150 million to New Hope Singapore, a unit of one of China’s largest agribusiness companies New Hope Group, to expand its animal feed production capacity in industrial parks across Vietnam, Egypt, Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Nepal.
Separately, the DFI could allocate up to $40 million in the latest India fund of early- to growth-stage investment firm Lok Capital. IFC said it plans to commit up to $20 million in equity to Lok Capital V and set aside an additional co-investment envelope of up to $20 million. Lok Capital V is targeting up to $250 million in aggregate capital commitments to provide growth capital to financial services companies and climate and sustainability enterprises.
IFC is also considering an investment of up to €15 million (about $17 million) in Austria Technologie & Systemtechnik AG (AT&S) to support its manufacturing expansion in India and Malaysia.
Sundaram Alternates, the alternative investment arm of the Sundaram Finance Group in India, has raised about $126.5 million for its Performing Credit Opportunities Fund, amid demand for funding from mid-sized Indian companies. It drew commitments primarily from domestic limited partners, including institutional and quasi-institutional investors, high-net-worth individuals (HNIs), and family offices.
Also in India, impact investment firm Next Bharat Ventures, led by Suzuki Motor Corporation, has launched its second fund, targeting $210 million. The two-year-old venture focuses on sectors like agriculture, rural supply chains, financial inclusion, healthcare, rural mobility, and AI.
Indonesian fintech unicorn Flip has announced a strategic partnership with Paytm to bring the Indian payments company’s Soundbox technology to Indonesia. This confirms an earlier DealStreetAsia report. The collaboration could also include an equity investment of about $25 million by Paytm into Flip, sources said.
Meanwhile, amid broader jitters about Indonesia’s public market, the latest issuer to make its debut on the Indonesia Stock Exchange attracted strong retail demand, and its stock ran up more than 34% shortly after opening. The initial public offering of media and consumer platform PT Rans Entertainmen Indonesia Tbk (RANS) took place at the end of IDX’s busiest IPO week this year.
Vietnam-based financial services firm F88 is targeting a $660 million valuation with its initial public offering (IPO), as it aims for a $1 billion market cap ambition by the end of this year. The Mekong Capital-backed company is selling 22 million shares to public investors at 71,000 dong ($2.70) apiece, seeking to raise about $60 million.
Singapore-based early-stage venture capital firm BEENEXT could be preparing for a leadership transition, with members of its senior leadership team believed to be planning to launch their own independent investment funds.
Singapore’s Temasek-backed cross-border payments company Nium has acquired crypto infrastructure startup Cypher, although it did not disclose financial terms of the transaction. This comes as the company sees growing demand from crypto-native businesses, including digital wallets and exchanges, as well as fintech firms integrating digital asset services into their platforms.
Other developments in Southeast Asia
Indonesia’s sovereign wealth fund Danantara broke ground on a 3 trillion rupiah ($166.6 million) waste-to-energy plant in Bali, marking the first project under the government’s accelerated national waste management programme.
Singapore-based Carousell Group has turned EBITDA-positive for the financial year of 2025, as revenue for the same period rose 18% from a year ago. The online commerce platform has been expanding from its origins as an online marketplace into re-commerce and transaction-led services to improve monetisation. Carousell did not disclose its net profit or loss, or the size of its EBITDA. The company’s backers include Temasek’s Heliconia Capital Management, Rakuten, and Indonesia’s GoTo Group.
Private equity-backed Philippine discount chain DALI reported a narrowing of losses for its 2025 financial year, amid an expansion boom and market talk that it is looking to raise fresh capital from major investors that could include General Atlantic and German retailer Aldi. DALI’s existing backers include Malaysia’s Creador, and Philippine firm Navegar.
Also, this look into what the shutdown of one of Vietnam’s most promising startups, Sendo Farm, indicates about the country’s online markets. Sendo had secured backing from a slate of global investors including SBI Group, SoftBank Ventures Asia, and Daiwa PI Partners, but still fell to stiff competition from foreign rivals.
For more developments in the private capital markets this week, don’t miss the latest editions of Beyond The Buyout and Data Vantage newsletters.
