T&I AsiaWatch for June 23rd, 2025
2025 moves a bit more firmly into third place over the past 7 years.
Editor’s Note: China’s historic IPO year rivals USA’s 2000 internet boom of 3 to 5 IPOs filed in a day and we may see STAR join in soon. HKEX had 20 IPO filings, 3 with USA VC; the USA had 1 Asia IPO; India: no VC IPOs; Tokyo had 2 VC IPOs filed. In PE deals of the week: Asia Alternatives has an IPO; KKR gave PEP an exit; HillHouse exits in China; Affirma was reported giving Equis an exit in Korea. Listed GPs had a mixed week with modest gains by several, but with continued stalls, or even further falls. If you’re in Boston, New York City or Washington reading this, I’m headed your way. Send me an email!
Australia: Asia Alternatives-backed Kilcoy Global Foods filed for a $100 million Nasdaq IPO. Amazon Web Services announced a $A20 billion investment in data center infrastructure. Abu Dhabi SOE ADNOC offered $18.7 billion for 70 year old gas distributor Santos. T&I’s annual bad-timing award goes to Bain and QIA’s re-listed Virgin Australia which returns to the ASX this week as analysts say the Iran war will cut Australia’s equity markets by 10%, oil prices are set for a war driven rise and investor grousing on overpriced IPO grew louder. It’s an inauspicious start for 2025’s first PE-backed IPO. In related news BlackRock cut its ASX exposure again. Brite Advisors lost its case versus the US SEC for mismanagement of $400 million of client assets. Within days of announcing permission to manage assets in-house for the first time, Future Fund and IFM are removing Dexus (FKA: AMP Infrastructure) as manager of their Melbourne Airport stake. So much last “no impact on managers” from in-house investing. A KKR led consortium bought local PE firm Pacific Energy Partners’ Zenith Energy.
China: As one of (if not the only) remaining analyst/journalist covering the peak of VC-backed IPOs (as Editor in Chief of Upside) from April to June of 2000, I’m here to write that we’re witnessing the same phenomenon today, with an exception; this IPO gold rush is in China. Last week 20 more filings, though only four have US-based VC backing; the result of the past 10 years’ decoupling of China and USA financial markets. Ant, Beijing PE, Citic, GGV, Warburg-backed logistics firm Geekplus Technology filed a HKEX IPO. Baidu, Sina-backed Shanghai Able Digital Science filed to IPO on the HKEX. Beijing Tomato PE Fund-backed hotpot retail chain Banu International filed a HKEX IPO. BRV, Feidan, IMO-backed cloud services PPLabs Technology filed a HKEX IPO. CCBI, Oriental Fortune, Suzhou VC, and other SOE VCs-backed Suzhou ecMax IT filed a HKEX IPO. Hillhouse/Gaoling Capital is exiting 5% of its shares in Longji Green Energy by August as part of its migration from PRC investments. Hefei State VC-backed fabless IC designer GigaDevice filed to IPO on the HKEX. Qingmo VC, Suzhou VC-backed electronic parts maker Zhaowei Machinery filed a HKEX IPO. In the hope to join the HKEX IPO gold rush, Shanghai’s also ran, constantly reorganizing STAR Market announced it will allow IPOs by unprofitable companies in a move to support PRC’s VC-backed, but unprofitable bio startups. Troubled electronics retailer Suning dumped Carrefour outlets acquired in the French giant’s China exit a decade ago. Suzhou Fangguang VC, other SOE VCs—backed Gpixel Microelectronics filed a HKEX IPO. Suzhou Qingsong VC-backed display producer Shiyuan Electronics Technology filed a HKEX IPO. Tongyi, SOE VC-backed Woer Heat-Shrinkable Material filed to IPO on the HKEX. Vivo Capital lost its legal suit seeking to take control of Sinovac (Nasd:SVA) after Sinovac prevented Vivo from taking part in dividends Sinovac paid to its current board and not shareholders. Zhuhai Yuqin Hongtai VC-backed banking fintech Yusys Technologies filed a HKEX IPO.
India: Accel, Kalaari, Iron Pillar, Saama-backed BlueStone is raising $30 million, post IPO filing (April) at a $1.2 billion valuation. Fifteen years after leading India’s luxury real estate boom into ruin, litigation and regulatory penalties, DLF has sold a Mumbai luxury project for $1.2 billion. GIC-backed stock broker Groww expanded the veil of BS beyond its confidential IPO to be, about to IPO, "With an initial public offering (IPO) on the horizon”. After a five year stay of action for litigation and regulation, Ola, Rapido and Uber ride share services are suspended in Bengaluru over questions that should have been resolved at the onset of their services. Now it’s back to litigation and appeals. From the realm of rare VC-backed successes, Sierra Ventures-founded MakeMyTrip raised $1.3 billion from a mix of equity and debt, to reacquire shares in itself, owned by China’s Trip.com. And in even more rare news, India’s famously willing to spoil any investment party regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India SEBI will allow startup founders to retain their employee stock options (Esops) after their companies go public. T&I doesn’t know what’s in the drinking water in Mumbai, but thank you sir, may we have another?
Indonesia: Ares Management is reported buying three of Northstar Group’s PE Funds. Wilmar Group (Singapore) surrenders $750 million deposit to AG in palm oil export suit.
Japan: The Defense Ministry released maps of China's aircraft carriers in the first ever sail-by of the "second chain" in the Pacific (Guam). Mitsubishi announced a $3.9 billion investment in USA solar. Promotion Investment Fund-backed snacks maker Minoya filed a TSE IPO. SoftBank spins a $1 trillion AI data center scheme in Arizona, hoping for TSMC (which is investing $165 billion in U.S. fabs) support. TBS Innovation Fund-backed business consultant Fuller filed for an IPO.
Korea: Affirma Capital is reported paying $294 million for Equis’ waste firm Circular Energy. Anchor Equity Partners (HK) tells media its selling education service provider Danbi. Koramco Asset Management announced a $7 billion allocation for real estate and data centers.
Malaysia: Southern Capital-backed Qualitas Health revived its 10-year old Bursa IPO hopes.
New Zealand: BGH Capital (Australia) offered NZ$508 million for ASX listed Tourism Holdings. BlackBird VC-backed AirBNB copycat KiKi closed in NYC.
Vietnam: Dragon Capital VEIL reports May results. VinaCapital VOF reported May NAV up 5.1%, the exit from Tam Tri Hospital and separately made five transactions in its own shares.
Pan Asia and Global Funds: Apax made five transactions in its own shares. HarbourVest made five transactions in its own shares. Pantheon made three transactions in its own shares.
Tech Rant: Apple is reported buying AI Startup Perplexity to kick start its failed AI effort. It’s a sad return to the bad old days of Bill Atkinson’s Hypercard that saw it buying Owl Research to bolster its reputation for innovation prowess.
Media Rant: The same week it lost crown jewel Nancy Youssef, WSJ adds 1950’s era futurism. It’s an unintentional parody of WSJ’s declining quality, but it’s still better than WSJ men’s fashion tips.
Transaction Pace: 62 transactions improved on last week’s 55 transactions, nudging 2025 to a more solid third place for transactions over the past 7 years as we pull ahead of 2024. And that is as good as it gets as there is no way to catch either of 2021 or 2022 transaction years. In order of geography, Australia turned in a big week of 13 transactions with a third VC/PE-backed IPO for 2025 by Asia Alternatives, an exit by BlackBird, KKR buying a PEP portfolio, LP QIC taking a RE Exit. It was one of the most diverse deal weeks I can recall. The government-driven rush to IPO in Hong Kong continues to inflate numbers of filings for IPO exits for China; thirteen last week of the twenty IPOs filed, with only one notable PE exit as HillHouse continued its China migration. India has, as always, a raft of new VC investments, but the pace is down from winter/spring peaks. IPOs remain visible in the headlines only, though filings continue only two dozen IPOs year to date on BSE/NSE boards and few of those are VC-backed. Korea and Japan continue to turn in small numbers of new PE and VC deals, but the rest of Asia is frozen in time in one of developing or emerging Asia’s most difficult years.
Jerry Borrell, Editor in Chief, T&I Asia. © 2025 T&I