Emerging Asia Data Insight (Q3 2018)
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Driven by large regional and China-focused vehicles, Emerging Asia fundraising in Q1-Q3 2018 has already reached the highest yearly total since EMPEA began recording fundraising data in 2006. Accounting for 49% of the region’s fundrais-ing thus far this year, China-focused funds raised US$31 billion, more than double the total for 2017. However, regional funds stole headlines in Q3: closing at US$10.6 billion, Hillhouse Capital’s fourth pan-Asia fund is the largest emerging markets private capital fund ever recorded. Similarly, capital invested in Asia in Q1-Q3 2018 is on track to surpass all years on record, driven by increasingly large deals. GPs participated in 32 venture capital (VC) rounds of US$100 million or more in the first three quarters of 2018, half of which closed in Q3 alone—on pace to more than double the number of US$100 million-plus investments in 2017. While investor interest in the region’s flourishing technology ecosystem has led to a boom in venture capital activity over the past few years, VC deal count in Q3 declined by 16%, quarter-on-quarter, as capital accrued to fewer yet larger deals. It remains to be seen whether this quarter represents a temporary dip or signals an impending funding crunch for early-stage startups.