Asia

Japanese bank Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) has co-founded the corporate venture capital fund “SMBC Asia Rising Fund” (CVC) with Tokyo-based venture capital firm Incubate Fund (IF) in the Singapore for the purpose of accelerating business development and partnerships through investments in high potential Asian start-ups.

City University of Hong Kong has on Monday launched the first ever HK Tech 300 Southeast Asia Start-up Competition (HK Tech 300 SEA Competition) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, extending the highly anticipated innovation and entrepreneurship program to Southeast Asia to foster start-ups and innovation and technology development in the region.

Bitdeer Technologies Group (Bitdeer), a Nasdaq-listed technology company for the cryptocurrency mining community, and Druk Holding and Investments (DHI), the commercial arm of the Royal Government of Bhutan, have on Wednesday announced a strategic partnership to develop environmentally sustainable, carbon-free digital asset mining operations in the Kingdom…

BluSmart Mobility, India’s electric vehicle (EV) ride-hailing service and EV charging superhub infrastructure operator, has on Thursday announced that it has raised $42 million in the recent round in April.

Chiratae Ventures, India's largest homegrown venture capital fund, has successfully concluded the fundraising for its first Chiratae Growth Fund (CGF-I), raising INR 1001 cr ($122.5 million).

Japan's largest bank MUFG Bank has on Tuesday announced that it has established the Marunouchi Climate Tech Growth Fund L.P. with Mitsubishi Corporation and Pavilion Private Equity Co., Ltd. The fund which has $400 million at establishment, is targeting a fund size of $800 million to $1 billion.

Kakao Pay, a fintech subsidiary of Korean-based conglomerate Kakao Corp., has on last Thursday announced an agreement to purchase a 19.9 percent stake in United States-based brokerage firm Siebert Financial Corp for approximately $17 million.

Japanese venture capital firm GLOBIS Capital Partners (GCP) has announced the final closing of its Fund VII at 72.7 billion yen ($534 million).

Endowus, a Singapore-based wealth management platform, has on Wednesday announced the official launch of its digital wealth management services in Hong Kong. Hong Kong is Endowus’ first overseas expansion market after Singapore.

Capria Ventures, a Global South specialist venture capital firm, marks the first close of its target of $100 million fund. The new fund will focus on investing in 20 to 25 tech startups in the entrepreneurial hotspots of India, Southeast Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa.