Author: Chris Lam

Real estate private equity firm Gaw Capital Partners today announced the appointment of Mr. Nitin Gupta as Managing Director and Head of India at Gaw Capital Partners. Mr. Gupta will be based in Mumbai, India. Nitin will spearhead Gaw Capital Partners’ foray into India market, building a professional team on the ground to capture attractive investment opportunities across real estate spectrum. His exceptional leadership, market relationships and transaction structuring experience for over nearly three decades in India will be invaluable for building a scalable and successful business in India for Gaw Capital Partners. Prior to joining Gaw Capital Partners, Nitin…

Indonesian crypto wallet and trading platform Pintu announced the closing of a $113 million Series B round of financing from Intudo Ventures, Lightspeed, Northstar Group, and Pantera Capital. Launched in April 2020, Pintu is Indonesia’s leading homegrown crypto assets platform, dedicated to making investing in crypto assets such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and 50 other popular cryptocurrencies more accessible for everyone. Specifically designed for first-time and novice users in mind, Pintu’s mobile application introduces investors to crypto assets through its intuitive user experience, easy-to-use trading features, advanced security features, and accessible educational content. With its suite of features and emphasis on…

Huawei has officially released a new generation of power supply solution – PowerPOD 3.0 – during the Huawei Next-Generation Data Center Facility event. Through core technology innovation and component convergence, the solution optimizes the layout and builds a worry-free data center power supply system that saves footprint, power, and time. By using an innovative converged architecture and the industry’s ultra-high-density UPS5000-H, the power density per cabinet is increased and the space layout of the power supply system is optimized. The number of cabinets is reduced from 22 to 11, resulting in a significant footprint decrease. In a 12 MW data…

Singapore-headquartered global crypto-focused venture capital fund NGC Ventures has secured $100 million for its third blockchain fund, NGC Metaverse Ventures, according to an AsiaTechDesk report. Investors in the crytpo fund include Babel Finance, Altonomy, Huobi Ventures, Nexo Ventures and GBIC. The funding comes after the success of NGC Ventures’ previous funds, which made strategic early investments in many of today’s top-tier projects including Solana, Oasis, NYM, Babel Finance, Republic, Banxa and Algorand. Read full story: Crypto-focused NGC Ventures raises $100m for blockchain fund

South Korean government’s largest accelerator program for foreign startups K-Startup Grand Challenge (KSGC), is inviting applications from startups and entrepreneurs from around the world for its 2022 edition. KSGC is hosted by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) and organized by the National IT Industry Promotion Agency (NIPA). Southeast Asian startups can leverage the KSGC program to expand to South Korea, a key market in Asia known for its technological innovation. The program provides regulatory support as well as industry linkages to establish a presence in South Korea. Team members receive settlement grants and visa support as part of…

The OPEC Fund for International Development has signed a US$25 million loan agreement with Corporación Interamericana para el Financiamiento de Infraestructura (CIFI) to finance the development of private sector infrastructure projects in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region. OPEC Fund Director-General said: “More investments are needed to meet the growing infrastructure needs of the region. Our cooperation with CIFI will promote private sector participation in infrastructure development, support mid-size projects across the energy, water and sanitation, transport, and telecommunications sectors, and improve the quality of life for citizens across the region. This is an important contribution to the Sustainable…

Australia Treasury and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) have signed the Australia-Singapore FinTech Bridge Agreement to strengthen cooperation between the FinTech ecosystems of both countries. The commencement of discussions to develop the FinTech Bridge was announced in June 2021, when Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison met with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. The FinTech Bridge aims to build on the overarching framework for digital economy cooperation under the Australia-Singapore Digital Economy Agreement (DEA) to deepen collaboration between the FinTech ecosystems of both countries. The FinTech Bridge will support both FinTech ecosystems now and in the future, with both…

Qoala, an insurtech startup based in the Indonesia, announced that it has raised $65 million in a Series B funding round led by French investment firm Eurazeo. The funding round also saw the participation of several of the startup’s existing investors, including Flourish Ventures, KB Investment, MassMutual Ventures, MDI Ventures, SeedPlus, and Sequoia Capital India. New investors also include BRI Ventures, Daiwa PI Partners, Indogen Capital, Mandiri Capital Indonesia, and Salt Ventures, per the announcement. Based in Indonesia, Qoala distributes retail insurance products to consumers for car, bike, home, and health through its omnichannel platform. It expanded to Thailand and…

IFM Investors’ private equity Growth Fund has acquired a majority stake in Render Networks, a global provider of construction management Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions for builders and operators of telecommunications, energy and utility networks. Dividends Returns that are generated through investments like these go to IFM’s investors – which are largely superannuation funds – and through them, into the pockets of the millions of working people they represent. Headquartered in Melbourne and with operations in the United States and the United Kingdom, Render uses a proprietary geospatial construction platform to build networks more efficiently. Disrupting the decades-old, traditional…

China Resources Enterprise (CRE) and Fung Investments have teamed up to establish a 50/50 $300 million joint venture investment platform focusing on businesses with quality brands, products, services and technologies. According to the announcement, the two parties will each be responsible for $150 million of contribution to the JV. The JV will make investments in offshore companies (non-PRC incorporated companies) that sell consumer and lifestyle related quality brands, products, services and/or innovative technology, which have potential for introduction to or expansion in China particularly in the Greater Bay Area. The companies also have to be in alignment or synergistic with…

Four 4th-year cadets of the Royal Military College (RMC) of Canada died when the vehicle they boarded entered the waters on campus at Point Frederick on Friday, April 29, 2022, according to a statement from the National Defense. An investigation into this incident by the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service is ongoing. No further information about the incident will be provided until the investigation is complete. The cadets who lost their lives were identified as Jack Hogarth, Andrei Honciu, Broden Murphy, and Andrés Salek. “RMC’s first priority is to ensure our students, staff, faculty, and families are cared for and…

Indonesian alt-protein food tech startup OFF FOODS announced that it has raised $1.7 million in a seed funding round led by Alpha JWC Ventures and backed by Global Founders Capital and other strategic investors. OFF FOODS plans to invest in its research and development to offer new variations of OFF MEAT, starting with other chicken-like options such as nuggets. The company will also continue to expand to other cities in Indonesia while also launching a direct-to-customer game plan to reach more users. Founded in 2021 by serial entrepreneur Dominik Laurus and experienced plant-based businessman Jhameson Ko, OFF FOODS aims to…

Private equity major KKR announced its acquisition of Twenty Anson, a prime-grade office building in Singapore’s central business district (CBD). The transaction marks KKR’s first real estate office investment in Singapore, and reflects KKR’s confidence in Singapore’s position as a leading regional financial hub and the long-term prospects of its office real estate market. Completed in 2009, Twenty Anson is a 206,163-square-foot commercial building in the heart of the Tanjong Pagar precinct and part of Singapore’s CBD. The building sits at the nexus of multiple new office, hotel and retail, and residential developments, and is situated near public transportation networks.…

Hong Kong-based ESR Cayman Ltd, the largest real asset manager in Asia Pacific, has announced the appointment of Serene Nah as an Independent Non-executive Director to the company’s board of directors, with effect from April 19, 2022. Nah will also be appointed as a member of the Audit Committee and Nomination Committee of the company. According to the announcement, Nah has an extensive experience in financial management, capital markets, and business transformation. She has served as an Executive Director (since October 2021), Chief Financial Officer (since September 2020), and Chief Strategy Officer (from October 2019 to August 2020) of Kerry…

SM Prime Holdings (SM Prime) has set the interest rates for its Peso-denominated Series P, 5-year retail bond at 5.6141 per cent due on 2027; Series Q, 7-year retail bond at 6.1175 per cent due on 2029; and Series R, 10-year retail bond at 6.5432 per cent due on 2032. SM Prime issued an aggregate principal amount of PHP15.0 billion of the Series P, Q and R bonds, with oversubscription option of an additional PHP15.0 billion. These retail bonds will be offered from April 7 to 13, 2022 by SM Prime to investors through joint issue managers BDO Capital &…

Developing Asia’s economies are forecast to grow 5.2% this year and 5.3% in 2023, thanks to a robust recovery in domestic demand and continued expansion in exports. However, uncertainties stemming from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the continuing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, and tightening by the United States Federal Reserve pose risks to the outlook. Several subregions, including South Asia and East Asia, are expected to return to the economic growth rates they experienced before the pandemic, according to the Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2022, released by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) today. Inflation in the region remains manageable but is…

SeaX Ventures (Southeast Asia Exponential Ventures) announced the close of its second fund to help accelerate the growth of global startups throughout Southeast Asia. The fund is dedicated to investing in companies working on truly transformational opportunities in sectors including blockchain & web3, foodtech, biotech & life science, artificial intelligence, robotics, and IoT & hardware. Although the original fund target size was $50 million, the raise was oversubscribed, and the total was increased to $60 million. SeaX Ventures will make investments of between $500,000 – $5 million in pre-seed, seed, and Series A financings. “Southeast Asia is a region of…

Ahead of its IPO, PT GoTo Gojek Tokopedia Tbk (GoTo), the largest digital ecosystem in Indonesia, announced that it will allocate over US$20 million to driver-partners. In Indonesia, the driver-partners will receive a share grant under the Gotong Royong Share Program. GoTo Group CEO Andre Soelistyo said, “It has always been our dream to be able to share the benefits of our IPO with partners in our ecosystem. Through the Gotong Royong Share Program, we are able to show our appreciation to loyal driver-partners who have helped build GoTo from the very beginning and have journeyed with us through the…

ib vogt and ACEN have agreed to set up a platform to fund the construction and operation of large-scale solar power plants throughout Asia, subject to applicable regulatory approvals. The joint venture partners will focus on late-stage, shovel-ready projects in Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Laos, Bangladesh, and other countries in the region. The majority of projects will stem from ib vogt’s Asia development pipeline of more than 5,000 MW with initial projects planned to go into construction during 2022. The platform will also be open to acquire late-stage projects from local and regional developers. The venture targets a minimum operational capacity…

YouTrip, Singapore’s leading multi-currency neobank, announced that Tim Lee, an angel investor, former Partner at Sequoia Capital and tech industry veteran, will be joining YouTrip’s Board of Directors from 1 April. In this new appointment, Tim will be partnering with YouTrip to oversee its strategic business growth and strengthen partner relations. “Tim has journeyed with YouTrip as a trusted advisor from our early days and we’re thrilled to take this relationship further with Tim as a valuable member of our Board,” said Arthur Mak, Co-founder & Chairman, YouTrip. “His sharp business acumen and rich experience in scaling high-growth companies makes…