Fubon Life Insurance, the insurance unit of Taiwanese financial conglomerate Fubon Financial Holdings, is investing $65 million in the new $3.75 billion venture fund of New York-based Tiger Global Management.
In a disclosure, Fubon Financial said the insurance firm is taking a 1.73 per cent stake in Tiger Global Private Investment Partners XIV, the thirteenth venture fund of the US investing powerhouse.
The fund is the same size as the previous fund that Tiger Global closed a year ago and PIP XI, which also raised $3.75 billion when it closed in 2018. The New York-based investment firm reportedly is looking at closing the new fund in March.
Through its venture funds, Tiger Global backs technology startups operating in the consumer internet, cloud, and industry-specific software sectors. It also focuses on direct-to-consumer firms in China, India, and the US.
The firm is an early backer in Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com and in Indian education technology (edtech) startup Unacademy, which turned into a unicorn in 2020.
Its other bets in India include finch firm Razorpay, credit card platform Cred, and fantasy sports unicorn Dream 11.
The commitment is the third announced investment for Fubon Life Insurance so far this year. In January, the firm said it is investing $65 million in London-based Coller International Partners VIII and another $20 million in Hamilton Lane Secondary V.
Fubon Life was founded in 1993 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fubon Financial to provide life protection, savings, annuity, accident, and health insurance products to customers.
Headquartered in Taipei, the insurance firm manages assets worth NT$4.17 trillion ($148 billion). The parent company reported a net profit of NT$23 billion ($767 million) with an 84 per cent growth year-on-year in the first quarter of 2020, mainly driven by investment income growth in Fubon Life.
In June 2020, the insurer committed to investing $50 million in KKR Asian Fund IV, the fourth Asia-focused buyout fund of private equity giant KKR & Co. It also proposed an aggregate of $203 million in three private equity funds – KKR Asia Pacific Infrastructure Investors, CVC Capital Partners VIII, and Thoma Bravo Fund XIV-A.
