After the decade-long success of our flagship Asia PE-VC Summit in Singapore, we are coming to Hong Kong with our inaugural Asia Private Equity Leadership Summit on May 20, 2026.
The Asia Private Equity Leadership Summit features 50+ speakers from top-tier firms, including HarbourVest, Ardian, Partners Group, HOPU Investments, Templewater, and more.
We have put together an action-packed agenda with curated sessions that will examine how LPs are structuring their Asia exposure; explore strategies for unlocking liquidity; deep dive into investment approaches for Greater China, evaluate the Gulf-Asia corridor, India, and developed Asia potential; highlight the rise of private credit and private wealth; and offer a detailed look at the venture capital funding stack.
Join us for our Asia Private Equity Leadership Summit in Hong Kong for insights on the latest shifts in capital allocation, deployment, and realisation strategies across Asia’s core markets.
Moving on to the other headlines featured this week.
Analysis and interviews
The eFishery scandal has quietly reshaped Indonesia’s startup landscape, with governance, operational verification, and financial transparency coming into sharper focus now. Several founders told DealStreetAsia that fundraising processes are taking significantly longer, with investors demanding deeper verification of financial and operational metrics presented in pitch decks.
Asia presents a unique but uneven opportunity landscape with artificial intelligence and private credit emerging as key focal points, according to Jeffrey Diehl, managing partner and head of investments at Adams Street Partners.
The current investment cycle is akin to the post-Global Financial Crisis phase, albeit with a few important differences, according to Chad Ovel, Partner at Vietnamese mid-market private equity firm Mekong Capital. Notwithstanding the booming local economy, political stability, GDP growth and public spending on infrastructure, allocators continue to adopt a cautious stance, he says.
Asia-focused private equity firm Advantage Partners is lining up two investments this year from its Asia Fund II, which closed this month at $424 million. It is targeting companies in Malaysia, Thailand, and India in the industrials space, the firm’s Partner and Head of Asia, Rahul Bhargava, said in an interview.
Singapore-based investment firm TRIREC has won the mandate to deploy part of a new $500-million vehicle aimed at driving access to clean energy solutions across Sub-Saharan Africa, and South and Southeast Asia. TRIREC managing partner Melvyn Yeo told DealStreetAsia the firm is tasked with identifying viable companies in Southeast Asia that will deliver impact along with financial targets.
Data-led insights
India’s startup ecosystem is still showing signs of resilience in 2026 amid geopolitical tensions, volatile global markets and continued caution in venture funding. Three companies have already entered the unicorn club this year, compared with five startups that crossed the $1 billion valuation mark in all of 2025, even as investors remain selective and funding cycles lengthen.
In contrast, India saw over six startups enter the unicorn club in 2024, two in 2023, around 20 in 2022, and more than 40 in 2021, reflecting a sharp moderation in unicorn creation after the peak funding cycle.
Indonesia’s digital banks are facing a strange paradox. While several major players have successfully amassed large deposits and significant funding, the sector is increasingly coming under pressure to convert that liquidity into sustainable profits.
DealStreetAsia reviewed the latest first-quarter financial statements of 11 digital banks operating in the country and found that ecosystem-backed banks such as Grab-backed Superbank and Kredivo’s Krom continue to expand aggressively, while more mature operators, including GoTo’s Bank Jago and blu (Bank Digital BCA), appeared to prioritise profitability discipline and liquidity management.
Earnings analysis
Southeast Asian tech giant Sea Ltd reported strong revenue growth in the first quarter of 2026, mainly driven by its e-commerce arm Shopee, which accounted for nearly three-quarters of its total revenue. Ironically, Shopee is not where Sea Ltd generates most of its profits. Shopee’s adjusted EBITDA fell 16% year-on-year to $223.2 million during the quarter, making e-commerce the only major segment inside Sea Ltd to post weaker profitability in the first quarter.
Philippine digital bank Tonik has reached breakeven after generating consolidated positive cash net income in the first quarter of 2026. The lender, which counts Forum Capital, Insignia Ventures, and Peak XV as its top shareholders, said the company generated consolidated positive cash net income—after deducting all costs, including cost of risk—on a group level in Q1. Tonik is the first fully digital bank to operate in the Philippines.
Indonesia’s sovereign wealth fund, Indonesia Investment Authority, booked a sharp increase in profit in 2025, driven by stronger investment income, foreign exchange gains, and higher dividend receipts.
LP-GP updates
The National Investment and Infrastructure Fund, India’s quasi-sovereign wealth fund, is understood to be in talks to invest in homegrown venture capital firm Arkam Ventures’ second fund, which is likely to close in the coming months. Launched in 2023 with a target corpus of $180 million, the fund size was revised to $150 million in 2024.
The Qatar Investment Authority has committed $500 million to General Atlantic‘s global growth equity strategies. The capital will support co-investments across “the global innovation economy”.
Former IFC Nupur Garg-founded Winpe is looking to raise up to $31.3 million for its debut fund, WeWin, which will invest in women-led businesses.
Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Company has hit the final close of its maiden private credit alternative investment fund, the Kotak Credit Opportunities Fund, at nearly $209 million.
Indonesia’s INA has appointed three banking and capital markets veterans to key leadership roles, including naming investment banker Oki Ramadhana as chief executive officer.
Deal exclusives
Singapore-based Pacific Universal Investments has acquired a 51% controlling stake in Indonesia-listed retail giant PT Mitra Adiperkasa Tbk (MAPI) for 11.81 trillion rupiah ($680 million), confirming a DealStreetAsia report in February that CVC was exploring a broader investment in MAPI at the parent-company level. The deal paves the way for CVC Capital Partners to pick a significant stake in the retailer and widen its exposure to the country’s consumer sector.
Irish aquaculture investor Hatch Blue is building a new platform company that will operate a digital merchant model and consolidate seafood startups through a side-by-side roll-up acquisition strategy. The JALA Tech-backer is looking to raise a minimum of $30 million in exchange for a 29% stake in the platform post-acquisition.
Singapore-based gourmet grocery chain Little Farms has raised fresh funds from new investor Asia Partners and existing investor Panther Mountain Capital. As part of the deal, Temasek-backed Heliconia Capital, which had backed the firm in 2023, sold all its shares to Panther Mountain.
Vietnamese business & finance management services provider SoBanHang has raised pre-Series A funding from a group of venture and strategic investors, according to regulatory filings accessed by DealStreetAsia’s DATA VANTAGE. The latest round comes three years after the company raised $4 million in seed funding in 2021.
The International Finance Corporation has proposed an investment of up to $50 million in the form of a senior secured loan in India’s Aadhar Housing Finance Limited. IFC is also considering a senior secured debt facility of up to $82 million for Bangladesh’s Akij Shipping Group to help expand and modernise its dry bulk fleet.
In its third funding update this week, the IFC said it is weighing an investment of up to $110 million in a securitisation facility for SME receivables originated by Philippine fintech lender First Circle.
