<article>Every day in the last few weeks has brought us to a fresh realisation of the far-reaching impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic on businesses, jobs, investors and dealmaking around the world.</article>

Every day in the last few weeks has brought us to a fresh realisation of the far-reaching impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic on businesses, jobs, investors and dealmaking around the world.
As we strive hard to keep you informed of the latest happenings and upheavals in the ecosystem, it is becoming clearer that the crisis will be tougher on some of us than the others. These are the people who have found themselves laid off without any notice (some on the second day of their joining a unicorn), the workers whose earnings have been slashed significantly, and the smaller businesses that have been dealt a body blow by this crisis. Worse, we don&#8217;t even know if we have hit the bottom yet.
On that sobering note, here is my recap of the week that was.
<h3>First, the big scoop</h3>
Singapore-based last-mile logistics player Ninja Van has raised at least $124 million in new Series D equity capital since April 2019, according to <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/exclusive-ninja-van-sells-124m-of-series-d-shares-89m-of-convertibles-183513/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">this story</a> by our features editor Kenneth Lim.
The story also offers details about the company issuing convertible notes, some of which have been redeemed at Series D pricing, as well as the startup&#8217;s latest valuation, a 2.5x jump from its Series C valuation in 2019.
<h3>Chinese vehicles hit fundraising milestones</h3>
China-focused private equity firm Huagai Capital <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/huagai-capital-third-healthcare-fund-183819/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">hit the final close</a> of its third healthcare fund at $434 million. The new vehicle, which exceeded the initial target of $425 million, will look at investment opportunities in the biopharmaceutical, medical equipment and healthcare service fields.
PAG Real Estate, the realty investment arm of Hong Kong-based PAG Asia Capital, has raised its largest <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/pag-asia-real-estate-fund-183740/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">pan-Asia opportunistic real estate fund</a>. The firm’s latest pooled fund, Secured Capital Real Estate Partners (SCREP) VII, was launched last year with a $2 billion target.
Chinese alternative asset management major CDH Investments <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/cdh-investments-mezzanine-fund-2-183604/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">hit the final close of its fifth mezzanine fund</a> at $1.13 billion. CDH will deploy the newly-raised capital in mergers and acquisitions (M&amp;As), high-growth private businesses, fixed assets, and non-performing assets. The company said that the new vehicle is the largest mezzanine fund in China to date.
<h3>March scorecard: China records 2 mega deals; Funding pace in India slows</h3>
In Greater China, two deals worth over $1 billion drove up venture capital deal value seven-fold in the month of March. Chinese startups collected an aggregate of over $6.13 billion in March 2020, a record high in the past six months, according to <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/china-deal-review-march-data-182723/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">proprietary data compiled by DealStreetAsia</a>. Our monthly review covers prominent deals, most active investors, deals by stages, and the sectors that were most attractive to VCs in March.
On the other hand, Indian startups <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/india-deal-review-march-182657/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">raised at least $1.38 billion in venture capital funding</a> in March, down about 8 per cent from February, according to our data. The joint investment by SoftBank and RA Hospitality in Oyo Hotels &amp; Homes (OYO) marked the single largest deal of the month, accounting for over 58 per cent of total deal value in March. Fundraising is likely to see a decline over the coming months as the COVID-19 outbreak weighs on dealmaking.
Apart from our monthly deal data reviews, we also bring you daily deal charts from India and China covering prominent VC transactions in both markets. You can access them in our <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/data-and-reports/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">data and reports</a> section.
<h3>COVID-19 Ripple: Projections and predictions</h3>
<a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/asian-startups-cash-crunch-183492/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Saving cash</a> has become the new mantra for startups in Asia as capital quickly dries up in the region. Funds raised by Asia-focused venture capital firms fell to a seven-year low of $2.2 billion in the first quarter, according to UK data provider Preqin. Investors are now urging startups to save enough money to support their business for at least a year in anticipation of a prolonged economic downturn brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.
Southeast Asia’s venture debt firms are <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/venture-debt-seasia-covid19-183655/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">seeing a rise in requests</a> from startups seeking debt financing in today’s cash-strapped market. However, the rise in demand may not necessarily lead to more issued loans since many startups are unlikely to enjoy the cash position venture debt providers are hoping for.
We are hosting our first webinar this week &#8211; April 16 at 2 pm SGT &#8211; on venture debt and whether it can be a lifeline for startups during times such as these. <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe-EyzFHXSwG2XJ8AYahlXUEl4nDEqbvhwfkOcF23spVW43aA/viewform" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Register now</a> to hear from Chin Chao of InnoVen Capital, Vinod Murali of Alteria Capital Advisors and Chris Wilson of Simmonds Stewart.
After rapid growth over the last few years, flexible workplace players in Southeast Asia are now <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/sea-coworking-operators-covid19-183770/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">embracing their biggest challenge </a>amid restrictions on activity to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. The almost universal lockdown in urban centres across the region has brought business to a halt and is threatening workspace operators’ ability to stay in business.
The shifts in consumer behaviour due to the COVID-19 outbreak are expected to <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/covid-19-asean-digital-economy-183136/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">alter the trajectory of digital economy development</a> in ASEAN economies, said a World Bank economist. The crisis has already driven up demand for digital applications for teleworking, education, healthcare, electronic and mobile payments and e-commerce.
As the COVID-19 outbreak weighs on investor sentiment and drives asset valuations down across the globe, Vietnam-focused private equity firm Mekong Capital feels <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/mekong-capital-interview-182700/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">no need to hunt for low-priced assets</a>. The firm has seen as much as a 30 per cent drop in valuations over the last few weeks due to the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.
<h3>In other news&#8230;</h3>
The COVID-19 outbreak has not stopped Malaysia-headquartered Aerodyne Group from <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/aerodyne-global-ma-183626/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">snapping up assets </a>as it continues to carve out its global expansion plans. The integrated drone service provider has set an aggressive two-year plan that sees it completing as many as seven M&amp;As. The group last week announced that it had acquired a controlling stake in Middle Eastern drone player FEDS Group Holdings.
Philippine technology firm Voyager Innovations has <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/voyager-innovations-funding-183208/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">secured up to $120 million in investment commitments</a> from its existing backers PLDT, private equity firm KKR, China’s Tencent, International Finance Corp (IFC), and the IFC Emerging Asia Fund. The latest commitment follows a $215-million investment made by the five investors in 2018 and extends the operational runway for the tech firm, which was staring at an impending cash crunch.
Singapore’s push toward electric vehicles (EVs) is expected to <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/singapore-ev-infrastructure-183410/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">spawn new investment opportunities</a> in supporting infrastructure and technologies, rather than in the manufacture of vehicles and batteries, according to sector watchers and investors. The primary EV-related investment opportunity in Singapore would likely be around charging infrastructure.
In the EV space, Taiwan-based ProLogium Technology has <a href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/prologium-series-d-183792/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">closed nearly $100 million in a Series D round</a> of financing, speeding up the company’s target to realize the mass production and delivery of solid-state battery packages for electric vehicles (EV) in 2021. The Series D round was backed by investors including an industry investment platform of China’s automaker FAW Group and Bank of China Group Investment.

This week's wrap features Ninja Van's Series D, PAG raising its largest Asian opportunistic real estate fund and startups' cash crunch challenges.

Editor's take: The week that was — April 6-10

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Editor's take: The week that was — April 6-10

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