China VC investment in Southeast Asia surges fourfold
July 11, 2019
China’s venture capital (VC) groups have increased their investment in Southeast Asia tech start-ups more than fourfold this year as they eye opportunities in a region that is seeing increasing numbers of consumers come online, said the Financial Times.
Total VC investment in Southeast Asia tech companies hit $3.4 billion in the first half of the year, up more than 300% from the same period a year ago, according to data from Refinitiv. Of that, Chinese firms poured in $667 million, up from $148 million in the same period in 2018.
Helen Wong, a partner at Qiming, said one key attraction was that “Southeast Asia has a high mobile internet penetration and a lot of people coming online.”
The surge is “drawing on fantastic regional demographics and the opportunity to create businesses that leapfrog ahead of the rest of the world”, said Itamar Har-Even, co-chief executive and managing director of Hong Kong-based Ion Pacific, which invests in tech companies and VC firms.