Southeast Asia’s dynamic private equity and venture capital industry is growing fast, despite some macro headwinds that are proving challenging.
According to the data from alternative asset info provider Preqin, the five largest private equity funds in the past five years have successfully raised more than $5 billion between them in the region.
Although the region’s global assets under management (AUM) is modest, as of December 2018, the region made up less than 1% of the $3.6tn in total global AUM, the industry is growing fast. Data from Preqin shows that between 2017 and 2018, ASEAN’s combined private equity and venture capital AUM rose by 8.6%, from $26 billion to $28 billion.
Some key findings made by Preqin include
- VC is one of the key strategies in ASEAN, with investors remaining upbeat and fundraising strong in spite of global economic volatility.
- Midway through 2019, ASEAN-focused buyout & growth funds have matched the total amount raised in all of 2018, but deal values are declining, showing that Southeast Asia is not immune to the economic environment.
- Social and cultural variation across Southeast Asia combined with an emerging middle class makes the region attractive to investors and has contributed to exponential growth.
Some of the biggest players in the region include Malaysia’s Navis Capital Partners who lead the private equity buyout table with a $1.4 billion deal. Another notable player is Axion Asia Private Capital, a firm with two fund of fund deals in the rankings worth a combined $2.4 billion.
