GPCA’s Asia headquarters was established in Singapore in 2021, to represent leading fund and institutional investors based in Southeast Asia, and to build bridges among investors across global markets with Singapore as a key nexus.
Approximately one third of GPCA’s members have a presence in Singapore. GPCA engages members through quarterly Southeast Asia Member Meetings, which include open discussions on trends in the region and Q&A sessions with invited guests.
GPCA’s local Singapore team also publishes sector-and-strategy specific research and profiles regional investors in partnership with GPCA’s VC + Tech team.
Singapore Team
- Ethan Koh, Asia Research Director
- Jia Xin Ong, Marketing & Membership Manager
- Steve Okun, Senior Advisor
- Yao Hwee Heng, Research Analyst
GPCA Southeast Asia Members Program & Reception
GPCA hosted a special program for GPCA Members and invited institutional investors on 22 September, 2022 at Marina Bay Sands Singapore, convening more than a hundred GPCA Members and invited guests from the investment community and government.
Global Institutional Investor Outlook Panel (L to R): GPCA CEO Cate Ambrose (moderator); Alicia Gregory, Deputy Chief Investment Officer, Private Markets, Future Fund; Andrea Auerbach, Global Head of Private Investments, Cambridge Associates; Frank Su, Managing Director and Head of Private Equity Asia, CPP Investments.
Key takeaways from the panel discussion in partnership with the Institutional Limited Partners Association (ILPA) with insights from LPs include:
- LPs are still looking for opportunities but cautiously navigating macro headwinds.
- Key focus areas for LPs include staying diversified, refreshing manager selections and sharpening scenario analysis for five years out.
- Investors are targeting cutting-edge technology to meet sustainability goals.
- “In China, For China” investing continues, with activity on pause otherwise
The Biggest Opportunities for Private Capital in Southeast Asia Panel (L to R): Julie Ruvolo, GPCA Managing Director (moderator); JP Gan, Founding Partner, INCE Capital; Jessica Huang, Partner, Openspace Ventures; Rodney Muse, Managing Partner, Navis Capital Partners; Avnish Mehra, Senior Managing Director and Co-Head Private Equity, Everstone Capital Asia.
Key takeaways from the panel discussion on the biggest opportunities for private capital in Southeast Asia:
- The attractive macro environment continues to attract foreign investments, and the region is less affected by the rising interest rate environment in developed markets.
- Though open and market-driven policies are welcoming new talent, the talent pool remains shallow in tech and science sectors.
- Investors note the rising adoption of digital services and electric vehicles as tech investment reaches record levels in the region.
Asia Research Director Ethan Koh provided the latest fundraising and investment trends in Asia. GPCA Members can reach out at ekoh@gpcapital.org for a copy of the presentation slides.
The meeting was followed by a hundred-person VIP stakeholder reception at the iconic rooftop lounge at CÉ LA VI.
Singapore Research
Southeast Asia Quarterly Members Meeting
September 22, 2022GPCA hosted a special program for members and invited institutional investors on 22 September, 2022 at Marina Bay Sands Singapore, convening more than a hundred GPCA Members and invited guests from the investment community and government.
An institutional investor panel was hosted in partnership with Institutional Limited Partners Association (ILPA), with a focus on Current Trends in Private Capital and the Outlook in 2023.
This was followed by a session discussing the biggest opportunities for private capital in Southeast Asia, led by GPCA Managing Director Julie Ruvolo.
The meeting was followed by a hundred-person VIP stakeholder reception at the iconic rooftop lounge at CÉ LA VI.
Read MoreSoutheast Asia Quarterly Members Meeting
June14, 2022Differentiating Between Impact Investing and ESG
GPCA hosted the first in-person Southeast Asia Quarterly Members Meeting in more than two years on 14 June 2022 from 4:30 pm – 6 pm SGT.
The roundtable meeting featured a practical discussion on differentiating between impact investments and funds that incorporate ESG as part of the investment process but do not necessarily have impact as a goal.
Speakers include Saima Rehman, Investment Officer, Private Equity Funds Group, IFC; Chayan Dhir, Head of Impact for Financial Services, LeapFrog Investments; Rukmini Bahl, Director, Insitor Partners; and David Steel, Founder and Partner, Triple P Capital.
This interactive roundtable discussion was led by GPCA’s CEO Cate Ambrose. In addition, Ethan Koh, GPCA’s Asia Research Director, presented the latest fundraising and investment trends in Asia.
Read MoreSoutheast Asia Quarterly Members Meeting
March 2, 2022Best Practices on Diversity & Inclusion
Jennifer Choi (Managing Director for Industry Affairs, ILPA), Shuyin Tang (Partner, Patamar Capital and Co-Founder & CEO, Beacon Fund) and Trinnie So (Director of Compliance & Government & Public Affairs, Asia and APAC rep for Women@Teachers, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan) shared their insights on best practices for Diversity & Inclusion.
Read More2022 Southeast Asia Startup Directory
February 22, 2022GPCA presents the Southeast Asia Startup Directory, which features 192 startups that raised disclosed USD5m+ rounds in 2021. This is a marked increase from 2020, when 106 startups raised disclosed USD5m+ rounds.
This report highlights each company’s disclosed investors, sectors, and financing stages. The report also includes an analysis of the participation of corporate investors and government funding in backing startups, as well as the percentage of capital flowing to women-led startups.
Read MoreSoutheast Asia Quarterly Members Meeting
December 14, 2021LP Outlook: Committing Capital in Asia 2022
Rebecca Xu, Alicia Gregory, Pamela Fung and Saima Rehman shared an update on how their investment strategies have changed over 2021, and their outlook for 2022.
Read MoreEmerging Tech Trends in Southeast Asia: Foodtech, Fintech, Healthtech and Edtech
November 9, 2021According to data compiled by GPCA, technology deals accounted for 83% of private capital
deal value across all asset classes in 1H 2021 — inclusive of a broad range of businesses across consumer-focused digital services.
Foodtech Spotlight: Nutrition Technologies
November 8, 2021Founded in 2015, Nutrition Technologies‘ mission is to introduce insects into the global food supply chain by harnessing their potential as sustainable commodity ingredients for animal and plant nutrition.
Read MoreFintech Spotlight: Nium
November 8, 2021Founded in 2014, Nium is a leading embedded fintech company that provides banks, payment providers and businesses with access to global payment services via one API.
Read MoreEdtech Spotlight: Ruangguru
November 8, 2021Founded in 2014, Ruangguru is a leading edtech platform in Indonesia, and growing quickly in Vietnam and Thailand. The firm manages virtual classroom services, online exam platforms, subscription learning videos and private tutoring marketplaces.
Read MoreSoutheast Asia Quarterly Members Meeting
October 5, 2021Ethan Koh shared insights from GPCA’s Tech Trends Report, presenting the latest trends in Southeast Asia across the edtech, fintech, healthtech and foodtech sectors.
Industry leaders Sanjay Gujral, T.J. Kono, Michael Octoman, and Hoda Abou-Jamra shared their perspectives on how they are implementing the ESG function in their particular context based in the region, and the increasing in-house focus on ESG in private capital.
Read MoreSoutheast Asia Quarterly Members Meeting
July 1, 2021Sandeep Naik, Sunil Mishra and Stephen Seelbach, Managing Director, Vista Equity Partners discussed how global technology trends are playing out in Southeast Asia, touching on some of the biggest tech bets in their portfolios.
Kai-Niklas Schneider, alongside Fumin Feng and Samantha Mok provided an overview of how GPCA members can engage with the SFIG, with a focus on green finance, sustainability, technology and innovation.
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