The COVID-19 pandemic has given a fresh impetus to secondary deals in the venture capital market. Prized assets are available in Southeast Asia’s secondary market at a discount as existing investors are eager to cash out and pay their limited partners.
Making the most of this opportunity is the Singapore-based alternative asset manager Indies Capital. Since end-March, the company has done three secondary transactions in big companies. “The flow of secondary transactions has been quite strong since early this year in Southeast Asia,” said Pandu Sjahrir, co-managing partner, Indies Capital.
In June 2020, Sjahrir was appointed as the youngest commissioner of the Indonesia Stock Exchange, with a mandate to help more unicorns list on the bourse and also to attract more millennial retail investors.
Sjahrir is also a prominent investor in tech companies such as Emtek Group, SEA group, and Gojek. In an interview with DealStreetAsia, Sjahrir discusses, among other things, the road ahead for Indonesia’s e-commerce players.
Edited excerpts of an interview:
