<article>Southeast Asia’s dealmakers appear to have shrugged off the COVID-19 pandemic as startups and investors continue to raise more capital and hammer out deals for expansion.</article>

Southeast Asia’s dealmakers appear to have shrugged off the COVID-19 pandemic as startups and investors continue to raise more capital and hammer out deals for expansion.
This week saw another Southeast Asian startup headed towards the unicorn club, Q2 data revealing a rally that has eclipsed 2020 already, Temasek announcing a record portfolio value and a raft of funding news.
<h3>The big deals</h3>
Southeast Asian used car trading platform Carsome will <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/carsome-icar-asia-catcha-deal-250512/">acquire a 19.9% stake</a> in ASX-listed iCar Asia from Catcha Group and the rest from iCar shareholders in a deal worth more than $200 million. The deal will create the largest digital automotive marketplace in the region and propel Carsome into the billion dollar valuation club.
Southeast Asian car platforms, including Carsome&#8217;s rival Carro that recently announced its entry into the unicorn club, are still scratching the surface, we point out in <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/carsome-icar-asia-sea-250688/">this analysis</a>. Carsome, for instance, is likely to take a cue from China’s more internet savvy car sales platforms and foray into cars-related content with its impending merger with iCar Asia.
Over in India, Walmart-owned e-commerce company Flipkart announced a <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/flipkart-cppib-gic-softbank-250337">$3.6 billion funding round</a> led by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments), Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC Pte, SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Walmart. After the financing, Flipkart is valued at $37.6 billion.
<h3>Southeast Asia&#8217;s deal frenzy</h3>
Singapore-based cross-border payments firm Nium <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/nium-riverwood-capital-vertex-250184/">bagged about $78 million</a> in Series D funding from Riverwood Capital Partners, Vertex Growth and other investors late last week. According to regulatory filings accessed by <a href="https://data.dealstreetasia.com/">DealStreetAsia &#8211; DATA </a><a href="https://data.dealstreetasia.com/">VANTAGE</a>, additional funding this week saw it take its Series D total to $80.35 million.
Digital Payments Holdings, the company that operates fintech startup OY! Indonesia, <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/indonesian-fintech-oy-series-a-251275/">raised $44.47 million</a> in its Series A funding round this month. The startup is now valued at nearly $108 million, according to DATA VANTAGE.
MetroMart, a grocery delivery startup in the Philippines, is in the market to <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/metromart-seriesa-250412">raise up to $30 million</a> in a Series A funding round. The firm&#8217;s co-founder and CEO confirmed the company is out to raise its first round of institutional funding.
Alternative protein startup Next Gen Foods <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/next-gen-temasek-ggv-250640/">bagged $20 million</a> in an extended seed funding round led by existing backer Temasek Holdings. New investors in the round include global venture capital firm GGV Capital, which injected nearly $2.9 million.
Indonesia-based tax compliance solutions provider OnlinePajak <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/onlinepajak-tencent-altos-warburg-250529">raised $12 million</a> from Tencent Holdings, Altos Ventures and existing investor Warburg Pincus last week, according to regulatory filings. The funding brings the startup’s valuation to nearly $170 million.
Singapore-headquartered Tinvio, which offers a communication platform for suppliers, <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/tinvio-appworks-ventures-251100/">raised $12 million</a> in its Series A round led by AppWorks Ventures. The round was joined by Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) and MUFG Innovation Partners.
Online education platform Nas Academy <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/nas-academy-series-a-250843/">closed an $11 million Series A round</a> led by Lightspeed Venture Partners. The round was backed by TechAviv Founder Partners, 500 Startups, Graph Ventures, Fresh.fund and Metapurse.
Find all the deals announced during the week in one place with our <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/se-asia-deal-monitor-july-12-16-250996/">deal monitor</a>.
Southeast Asia’s startups announced <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/se-asia-startups-q2-251250">new funding of at least $5.7 billion</a> in the second quarter this year – more than double the capital raised in Q2 2020 – as investors went full throttle to tap pandemic tailwinds, finds <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/reports/se-asia-deal-review-q2-2021/">the latest report</a> by DealStreetAsia – DATA VANTAGE released this week.
<h3>From Temasek&#8217;s corner</h3>
Singapore state investment firm Temasek Holdings saw its <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/temasek-2021-review-250565/">portfolio value grow 24.5% year-on-year</a> to S$381 billion (around $283 billion) in the year ended March 2021 on the back of the public listings of many of its portfolio companies, including Airbnb, DoorDash, and Roblox.
With many of its India-based portfolio companies, including Zomato, Ola and Pine Labs, set to go public in the near future, the investor&#8217;s portfolio value may <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/temasek-india-assets-ipo-250617">receive a further boost</a>.
Noting the heightened interest among Southeast Asian companies to list via a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), Temasek said some of its portfolio firms are also looking at <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/interest-in-spacs-temasek-250621/">taking advantage of the option</a>.
<h3>News from Greater China</h3>
Shanghai-based dental chain brand Mei Wei Dental Group <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/mei-wei-nets-155m-series-b-251343/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/mei-wei-nets-155m-series-b-251343/">bagged over 1 billion yuan </a>($155 million) in a Series B round of financing. The round was backed by Fortune Capital, Tianyi Group, New Hope Group, TFTR Investment and Shanghai Tianyou Investment.
Private equity giant Carlyle <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/neiwai-carlyle-251315/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/neiwai-carlyle-251315/">led a $100 million Series D round</a> for NEIWAI, an emerging lingerie brand in China, according to an announcement this week. The round was joined by existing investors Vertex Ventures and Qiming Venture Partners.
Hong Kong-based logistics platform GOGOX <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/gogox-nets-100m-bocom-cmf-251122/">secured nearly $100 million</a> in a funding round co-led by BOCOM International, a unit of Hong Kong-listed Bank of Communications, and venture capital firm Cyberport Macro Fund (CMF).
Tongcheng Life, a Chinese online community group-buying platform backed by Bertelsmann Asia Investments, has <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/tongcheng-life-bankruptcy-250431">filed for bankruptcy</a> just three years after its inception in August 2018. The startup, which secured an investment of $200 million last June, failed to stay afloat in an increasingly competitive market fuelled by heavy subsidies.
All the deals announced in the region are captured in our <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/sig-backs-ecloudtech-251159/">deal monitor</a>.
<h3>Fundraising by investors continues unabated</h3>
Malaysian private equity firm Creador has <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/creador-first-close-fifth-fund-251406/">made the first close</a> of its fifth fund at $500 million, DealStreetAsia has learnt. The fund is on track to make its final close by the end of this year with a corpus of $680 million.
Alternative assets manager Indies Capital Partners has <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/indies-capital-second-fund-first-close-250763/">announced the first close</a> of its second fund after securing commitments worth more than 70% of its target $80 million fund size. Its partner Harold Ong told DealStreetAsia that about 30% of the fund has already been deployed in five companies in Singapore, Indonesia, and Thailand.
Beijing-based venture capital firm XVC is seeking to <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/xvc-third-fund-250478/">raise $325 million</a> for its third US dollar-denominated venture fund, XVC Fund III.
Chinese venture capital firms INCE Capital Partners and Sky9 Capital are in the market to <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/sky9-capital-ince-raising-funds-250736/">raise new funds</a> that will likely continue to invest in early-stage Chinese startups.
Texas Permanent School Fund, a $22-billion US pension fund managed by Texas Education Agency, has <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/texas-permanent-warburg-orchid-asia-250752/">committed a total of $110 million</a> to the latest vehicles of investment firms Warburg Pincus and Orchid Asia. Warburg Pincus is in the market to raise $1.5 billion for its first vehicle with a dedicated focus on Asia’s burgeoning real estate market.
Cathay Life Insurance, the insurance subsidiary of Taiwanese conglomerate Cathay Financial Holdings, has agreed to <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/cathay-life-vertex-ardian-251011/">commit a total of $105 million</a> to Vertex Growth II and a vehicle of French PE firm Ardian.
Fubon Life Insurance, the insurance unit of Taiwanese financial conglomerate Fubon Financial Holdings, has <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/fubon-life-insight-partners-fund-250990">committed to invest $65 million</a> in the latest flagship fund of US-based venture capital and private equity investor Insight Partners.
<h3>Your weekend read</h3>
Indonesian super app Gojek’s withdrawal from the Thailand market, which was announced last week, could end up <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/gojek-thailand-vietnam-singapore-250921">aiding its regional expansion</a>, according to market watchers. The plan to sell the Thailand business to Malaysian budget carrier AirAsia will free up resources for Gojek to focus on Southeast Asia’s more lucrative markets such as Vietnam and Singapore.
As the food delivery battle heats up, players are moving into an even bigger space of <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/online-groceries-southeast-asia-249378">on-demand grocery delivery</a>, hiring warehouse workers to pick up anything from diapers to dips and dispatching drivers and bikers to drop them at peoples’ doorsteps.
Southeast Asia’s <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/direct-to-consumer-brands-sea-249592">direct-to-consumer (DTC) market</a>, where players sell directly to the end-consumer bypassing third-party retailers, is going through a major transformation with many new labels emerging in the region.
The market has piqued the interest of institutional investors, with the likes of L Catterton and Temasek Holdings writing their first cheques for the Indonesian beauty line Social Bella and Singapore’s Next Gen Foods, respectively.

The week saw another SE Asian startup headed towards the unicorn club and Q2 data revealing a rally that has eclipsed 2020 already.

Editor's take: The week that was — July 12-17

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Editor's take: The week that was — July 12-17

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