Diversity pays—literally. The latest report from DealStreetAsia DATA VANTAGE, Women in Private Capital: Southeast Asia 2025, showed once again that gender-diverse investment teams are raising far more capital than their all-male peers, across both PE and VC.
Since 2020, mixed-gender PE teams brought in nearly 67.8% of all capital raised, while in VC they accounted for almost two-thirds.
The study—featuring exclusive data meticulously compiled by my colleagues Andi Haswidi and Deandra Syarizka—warns that “without gender diversity in senior roles, the private capital industry risks reinforcing blind spots in how capital is deployed and value is created. It also limits the diversity of thought that is critical to navigating complex markets like Southeast Asia”.
And yet, women hold only about one in five senior investment seats in the region. It’s a stark reminder that the strongest outcomes are coming from teams that aren’t homogenous—even as most firms remain far from balanced. Download the report for a status check on the state of gender diversity in Southeast Asian private capital.
Meanwhile, we have announced the first batch of speakers for our annual Indonesia PE-VC Summit to be held in Jakarta in January. Be sure to book your seats.
Now, scroll down for other top stories of the week.
Boardroom & C-Suite Updates
Even before the week began, we broke the news that GoTo’s chief executive Patrick Sugito Walujo has stepped down from the helm of the Indonesia-listed tech giant, in addition to several other proposed changes to its board. The resignation of Walujo could ease the path to the company’s long-mooted merger with arch-rival Grab.
In another major boardroom update this week, Temasek Holdings has appointed former DBS Group Chief Executive Officer Piyush Gupta in an advisory capacity as its chairman in India—a key growth market where the Singapore state investor has been deepening its presence. Gupta will work with Ravi Lambah, Temasek’s head of India and strategic initiatives, to shape investment strategies, support portfolio companies and engage with government and business leaders in India.
Reading the exit climate
This week we had several stories on private capital firms exiting their portfolio companies, in a possible sign that the path to realising returns from long-held assets may be finally opening up.
Developments at Singapore-based Falcon House Partners, and Capsquare Asia Partners highlighted the state of mid-market PE exits in Indonesia. While Falcon is said to have completed its divestment from a natural-ingredients manufacturer in Indonesia, Capsquare is weighing either a secondary sale or a strategic transaction to exit one of its five-year-old investments in the country. Mid-market exits are still achievable but require tailored processes, patient engagement, and coordination with long-standing family owners.
Meanwhile, CDIB Capital Group and funds-of-funds Federated Hermes have exited Taiwan-based Poyun Group, the world’s largest maker of voice coils used in speakers, following a sale to Taiwan-listed Compucase Enterprise Co. While the deal is a sign that investment and exit sentiment is picking up across the Greater China region thanks to headline listings of private equity-backed companies, data suggest exits from buyout transactions have remained sparse in the past 12 months.
In Vietnam, Mekong Capital has quietly exited restaurant chain Red Wok, in which it invested in 2016 through the Mekong Enterprise Fund III. The firm divested 100% of its investment in the company in September 2025. The transaction marks the latest in a string of low-profile divestments for MEF III, which had also exited Ben Thanh Jewelry in 2020.
In another exit, Global investment firm Brookfield Asset Management has acquired Singapore-based clean energy developer Alba Renewables from SUSI Partners, marking the Swiss energy infrastructure investor’s first exit in Asia.
A notable boost to the exit scene this year has come from the stronger public markets, driven partly by PE-backed IPOs. While the IPO market is boosting exit prospects it is also inflating private valuation benchmarks, we noted in an analysis this week. After a brief reset, valuations are drifting up again, with median multiples rising to 12.8x in 2024—near 2021’s peak.
Speaking of exits, Indonesian digital banking player Superbank—backed by Emtek Group, Grab, Singtel, and KakaoBank Corp—has kicked off its IPO process. The bank plans to raise around $183 million on the IDX.
The prospect of exits is set to drive growth in private equity and venture capital investments in the Asia Pacific, Preqin noted in a report this week. Southeast Asia-based allocators have indicated a strong preference for PE-VC investments, with the asset class emerging as the top choice for investors in 2025.
Early investors in Asia’s quick service restaurants and fast food chains are witnessing renewed deal traction and liquidity events after the post-pandemic lull. With performance stabilising, investors are seeing returns again, and transactions are picking up. Buyers and sellers are finally finding common ground on price, even as bid‑ask spreads remain wide across the broader M&A market, we noted in the latest edition of our private equity newsletter Beyond the Buyout. The edition also examined the continued growth prospects for private credit and other top developments.
LP-GP news
Temasek-owned Seviora Group said it would integrate Pavilion Capital into its platform to build a leading Asia-based asset management group, lifting combined AUM to about $72 billion. The move will expand Seviora’s investment capabilities with complementary expertise in Asia-focused private equity fund of funds and co-investment strategies.
The Carlyle Group is launching an India side-fund alongside its sixth pan-Asia vehicle. The International Finance Corporation has proposed an investment of up to $60m in the vehicle, signalling institutional support. The new side-fund seeks to deploy capital across financial services, advanced manufacturing, consumer, media & retail, technology & business services, and healthcare.
Hillhouse Investment has launched fundraising for its next private equity fund targeting $7 billion, Reuters reported, in a key test of investor appetite as deal activity gathers pace in Asia.
Singapore-based August Global Partners (AGP) has closed its second fund, the AGP Healthcare Fund, at $150 million. The final close surpassed “initial fundraising targets”, the firm said, adding that it has raised capital from financial, institutional and strategic limited partners spanning Asia, Europe, and North America.
North Asian buyout firm MBK Partners has raised $5.5 billion for its sixth fund, lower than the earlier reported target of $7 billion. At this size, MBK Partners Fund VI is the largest fund raised by an Asia-focused independent asset manager this year.
India-focused fund manager Motilal Oswal Alternates (MO Alts) has begun the regulatory process to launch its private credit platform, marking its entry into the fast-growing segment. Its debut fund aims to raise $336 million.
Funding and corporate news
Sea Limited is reshaping its Latin American strategy, with Shopee exiting Chile and Colombia while preparing a return to Argentina. The comeback is backed by Shopee’s strong and rapidly expanding Brazil operations—now its most important market outside Asia.
India’s Delhivery is in talks to acquire a stake in a logistics peer in southern India as it looks to expand its regional footprint amid rapid changes in the sector. The development comes as India’s logistics sector moves from hauling goods to delivering them faster and more efficiently, driven by factors such as growth in e‑commerce and supply‑chain digitisation.
Indonesian FMCG distributor RMS has been placed under a temporary debt repayment suspension (PKPU) by an Indonesian court, raising concerns about a domino effect on fintech platforms and banks with exposure to the company, through its extensive sub-distributor network and as direct lenders. Court filings show that RMS was placed under PKPU on October 27, 2025. This gives the company relief from debt repayment for roughly 45 days—until December 11, unless extended.
Women’s health clinic Eluvo has raised $1 million in seed funding from Foxmont Capital Partners, as it looks to expand its doctor-led and women-led healthcare model in Metro Manila.
Thai digital insurer Roojai has raised $60 million in a Series C funding round co-anchored by UK private equity firm Apis Partners and growth equity investor Asia Partners.
Japanese financial services giant SBI Group is understood to have invested in the Vietnam-based insurtech platform Saladin.
Private equity major Warburg Pincus has agreed to acquire Hong Kong-based Topcast Aviation Supplies, the largest independent aircraft parts distributor and maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) service provider in Asia.
As the region’s private capital landscape continues to evolve, we’ll be here next week to make sense of the signals—and the noise. Thanks for reading, and have a restful weekend.
