Singapore-based asset management and private equity firm Golden Equator Capital is targeting to raise S$80-$100 million for its second Technology and Innovation Fund, and plans to close this vehicle in the first quarter of 2017, a top executive with the boutique investment company told this portal.
DEALSTREEETASIA had earlier reported that Golden Equator Capital had closed its first technology and innovation fund at around the $40 million mark, and had already initiated work on raising a larger follow-on fund.
Golden Equator’s chief executive and managing director Shirley Crystal Chua told this portal that the firm had launched its second vehicle last month, with a target of up to S$100 million, that will invest in Asian tech startups and consumer internet firms.
The first fund has made 10 investments, and she said while adding: “Four of them are doing really well. The valuation is up significantly, about 40 per cent, for the first fund.”
Technology and Innovation II will focus a lot more on enterprise solutions with a big focus on fintech and digital marketplace, she said.
“We are encouraging our clients to attribute up to 20 per cent of their portfolio to diversify into the venture space. Technology will be the next wave. About 20 years ago, we could get a 100 per cent return on real estate but we have recently seen technology yielding up to a 1,000 per cent return when invested in the right companies at the right time,” she said.
“We are positive that this is the area we should focus on – we are not just investing in Singapore companies but we also invest in the companies which house themselves in Singapore and do the business around the region in Asia,” she added. “Hopefully, some of those companies will become a global player.”
Golden Equator Capital’s strong focus on fintech is in line with the initiatives of the Singapore government, that is going all out to get the city-state to reinvent itself as a fintech hub, as its traditional strongholds such as the wealth management industry faces severe pressure. Besides, Singapore is also looking at riding the fintech wave to revive its sluggish economy.
Last month, Golden Equator Capital together with Gobi Partners led a $2 million Series A funding in Glints, a Singapore-based graduate recruitment platform. It also participated in a $10-million funding round in the social dating platform Paktor Pte Ltd and injected seed funding into F&B startup venture Eunoia this year.
Also read:
Golden Equator’s Shirley Crystal Chua: Spotting trends and riding them
