We are back with our weekly edition of capturing top developments and exclusives from SE Asia, India and Greater China.
In this analysis of Southeast Asia’s venture capital standstill, we examine how DPI has become the new IRR among investors. Gone are the days when fund investors expected venture funds to deliver outsized returns. Today, cash is king, and without distributions from mature funds, raising new flagship funds has become a steep challenge. 2025 marks another year in which the market has not entered into a new cycle, with investor sentiment further dampened by cases of governance lapses among startups.
On the bright side for SE Asian investors, data from a recently released Deloitte report reveals that private equity-backed listings sparked a revival in the region’s initial public offering (IPO) market, lifting average deal sizes and proceeds even as the number of new listings fell. Proceeds from IPOs across six Southeast Asian exchanges rose 53% in the first 10.5 months of 2025 to about $5.6 billion, from $3.7 billion a year earlier, even though the deal count slipped to 102 from 136.
Looking ahead, Deloitte said Southeast Asia remains an attractive region for public market capital raising in 2025 and beyond.
Let’s move to the other headlines that dominated the week.
Deal scoops
Indonesian digital credit provider and unicorn Kredivo is in early discussions to raise a fresh round of funding that could finally open liquidity avenues for some of its early backers. The process is expected to include both primary and secondary components and is being driven largely by investor exit needs rather than the company’s own capital requirements.
Indonesian aquatech startup DELOS and sharia-focused peer-to-peer lending firm Alami have reportedly secured fresh funding despite industry challenges and a broader funding crunch.
Telkom Indonesia’s move to divest its healthcare subsidiary AdMedika—as first reported by DealStreetAsia in September—has moved into an advanced stage, with new bidders emerging. The sale is expected to fetch around $80-100 million, depending on the final structure of the deal and the regulatory treatment.
B.Grimm Pharma, the healthcare unit of Thailand’s oldest diversified conglomerate B.Grimm Group, is considering selling a stake in what could be one of the largest M&A deals in the country’s pharmaceutical sector this year.
A host of PE firms, including 360 ONE Asset Management, have shown interest in investing in a diagnostics chain that operates multiple centres in the Delhi-National Capital Region in India.
Funding updates
Moon Technologies, a Singapore-based healthtech startup developing an eye screening device, has raised $2.6 million in its latest funding round, backed by SEEDS Capital.
Vietnam’s early-stage VC ThinkZone has invested an undisclosed sum in Sunny Days Piano, a piano training system for adults. This deal marks the first investment from ThinkZone’s new fund.
Malaysian restaurant software platform FeedMe has secured $5 million in fresh funding led by early-stage investor Integra Partners, with participation from returning backer Cento Ventures.
In a series of financing updates from multilateral development organisations, World Bank member IFC has proposed to invest $150 million in Evolution Data Centres (EDC), a hyperscale-oriented data centre platform in Thailand focusing on underserved high-growth markets in Southeast Asia.
IFC is planning to invest up to $100 million in sustainability-linked bonds issued by Thailand’s CPN Retail Growth Leasehold REIT.
Germany’s DEG is considering a $47 million loan for SchneiTech Beyond Co Ltd to finance a solar power project in Cambodia, while Dutch FMO has proposed a $40-million investment in Indian non-banking lender MAS Financial Services Limited.
In other news
TPG-backed BNPL platform BillEase is entering the Philippine banking arena following its acquisition of a single-unit rural bank in the northern Philippines, giving the fintech a direct path into deposit-taking, a critical step as it scales its lending business.
Southeast Asian superapp Grab has agreed to invest up to $410 million in German remote-driving startup Vay Technology, stepping up its push into autonomous mobility.
Southeast Asian tech giant Sea Ltd has rolled out a new share repurchase plan, allowing the NYSE-listed firm to buy back up to $1 billion of its American depositary shares. The move underscores the company’s confidence in its long-term outlook and gives it flexibility to scoop up shares when market opportunities arise.
LP-GP quarter
Singapore-based Mandala Capital is looking to plug a gap in climate adaptation solutions in South and Southeast Asia through its third fund. The $250 million vehicle, anchored by a $36 million commitment from the Green Climate Fund (GCF), is a blended finance structure.
After raising over Rs 3,600 crore ($406.3 million) for its fourth fund and hitting its original target, India’s TVS Capital Funds is keeping the door open for additional commitments ahead of its scheduled April 2026 close.
Qiming Venture Partners is seeking $600 million for its ninth flagship US dollar fund, a substantially smaller amount than what it raised for predecessor vehicles.
India’s SIDBI Venture Capital Ltd has completed the first close of the Antariksh Venture Capital Fund at $113.5 million, with the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre coming in as the anchor investor. The spacetech fund aims to raise a total of $181 million.
Ascertis Credit, formerly BPEA Credit, has made the first close of its fourth private credit fund for Asia at $520 million. Ascertis Credit Fund IV is aiming to raise $1 billion.
Japan Investment Corporation, along with its subsidiary, has recently launched a new 800 billion yen ($5 billion) private equity fund targeting the industrial theme. JIC has also made another 3-billion yen commitment to Kepple Liquidity Fund 2, a Tokyo-based venture capital secondary fund.
Danantara, Indonesia’s sovereign wealth fund, is accelerating its restructuring push with two parallel initiatives: the merger of eight state-owned asset management units and the planned acquisition of Pertamina’s healthcare subsidiary.
In this week’s edition of Beyond the Buyout, we look at how capital allocators from APAC, who have long favoured the deeper and more liquid US and European markets, are now rebalancing toward Asia.
In our monthly GreenStreet edition, we look at how private market firms are finding that being able to demonstrate decarbonisation efforts is working out financially for them, the opportunities in Vietnam’s upcoming urban adaptation plans and climate investments in October.
Lastly, Robinhood, the US retail trading platform that helped reshape equity investing for a generation of first-time traders, is laying the groundwork for an expansion into Southeast Asia, with Indonesia emerging as one of its beachheads.
