Asia

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.

Better Bite Ventures, a fund focused on Asia Pacific alternative protein startups, has on Wednesday announced four new investments under its early-stage First Bite initiative and reopens it for new applications.

Electric car sales are generally low outside the major markets, but 2022 was a growth year in India, Thailand and Indonesia. Collectively, sales of electric cars in these countries more than tripled compared to 2021, reaching 80,000.

Fuel Venture Capital, a leading early-stage investor in technology and digital companies, will conduct a roadshow in Asia next week as it looks to raise money for its next fund, which uses an innovative, new funding structure positioned to transform the private markets landscape.

TinyTap, an edtech subsidiary of Hong Kong-based gaming firm Animoca Brands, educational games, has on Tuesday announced that it has raised $8.5 million. The funding comes from investors including Sequoia China, Liberty City Ventures, Kingsway Capital, Shima Capital, Polygon, GameFi Ventures, and others.

The Ministry of Small and Medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and Startups (MSS) in South Korea said it will invest around KRW 1 trillion ($748.43 million) in a fund of funds this year to boost the venture capital sector in the country.