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Business Times
44 minutes ago
- Business
- Business Times
South-east Asia's IPO rebound offers beleaguered private equity market a sliver of hope
[SINGAPORE] Private equity (PE) players have seen the lack of exit opportunities in the first half of 2025 contribute to a decline in private dealmaking. A revival in initial public offerings (IPOs) across South-east Asia – seen as a key avenue for exiting a PE investment – may spark some optimism, but would it be enough to lift the sector? In the PE market, participants are looking back wistfully to the so-called 'roaring' 2021, when investors quickly rebounded from the pandemic-driven lull. Encouraged by low interest rates, fundraising set a record amid a frenetic pace in dealmaking. In the US – the world's biggest PE market – the number of deals jumped 87 per cent in 2021 from 2020, to top 9,500. Total deal values rose to around US$1.3 trillion. While South-east Asia is a much smaller market, the numbers notched in 2021 were not to be sniffed at. In a 2022 report, Bain & Co said PE deal values leapt 143 per cent to hit a record high of US$25 billion , driven by the likes of Temasek's US$4.3 billion investment in J&T Express . The number of transactions surged 81 per cent to 201. Bain has since updated these figures to US$27 billion and 211, respectively. A pick-up in 2024's numbers fuelled optimism for a better 2025. But that has not panned out. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up PE capital is stuck A sharp downturn in PE dealmaking in South-east Asia in H1 2025 has understandably led market participants to dial back their optimism for the rest of the year. There has been a decline in the number of IPOs on major South-east Asian exchanges as well. A recent Deloitte report showed 53 listings in H1 2025 across Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam, down from 64 in the same period in the previous year. With fewer IPOs, general partners (GPs), as PE fund managers are known, have to find other ways to offload investments made earlier, usually five to seven years ago. Without the ability to exit via IPOs, GPs may find it harder to return the invested capital, plus yield, to investors who are known as limited partners (LPs) in PE. The resulting distribution drought turns into a vicious circle of capital being stuck in older vintage investments, with less reinvested into new PE funds or ventures. South-east Asia is not alone in this predicament. In the US, the ratio of investments to exits has reached 3.14, the highest in a decade, according to data provider PitchBook. This means that PE firms enter about three investments for every venture they exit, pointing to the dearth of exit opportunities as tariff and trade tensions impact deal activity, said PitchBook in a Jul 23 report. Not all hope is lost Still, the outlook for the rest of 2025 may not be that dire, if one goes by the recent flurry of IPO activity in the key South-east Asian bourses. In Singapore, the IPO pipeline is looking considerably brighter after a dour H1. In July alone, there have been four listings – Info-Tech Systems , NTT DC Real Estate Investment Trust (Reit), China Medical System and Lum Chang Creations . A few more, including Centurion Accommodation Reit, Dezign Format and Coliwoo Group, have signalled their intent to list before the end of the year. That compares with just one listing by car dealer Vin's Holdings during the first half. It is a nice contrast to the first six months as well, when at least 16 companies announced delistings from the Singapore Exchange. These included Catalist-listed nursing operator Econ Healthcare , which was taken private by American PE firm TPG in a deal worth nearly S$88 million. The measures introduced by the review group of the Monetary Authority of Singapore – specifically the 20 per cent tax rebate for primary listings and the S$5 billion equity market initiative – also 'send a strong signal of intent to revitalise the market', Angelia Zhang, transactions accounting support partner at Deloitte Singapore, told The Business Times. 'These policy moves, coupled with a growing awareness of the need for early IPO readiness, could help unlock opportunities for both founders and investors looking for credible exit routes,' she added. In Indonesia, home to South-east Asia's biggest stock exchange by market capitalisation, a 500 per cent surge in the share price of the country's largest IPO this year has captured the public's imagination. The listing of Chandra Daya Investasi on Jul 9 – an investment management company with a diversified portfolio across energy, ports and logistics – is the latest IPO from local tycoon Prajogo Pangestu's business empire. Incidentally, the Indonesian stock market is also where the first PE-backed IPO in South-east Asia since 2023 occurred. When gummy candy producer Yupi Indo Jelly Gum raised US$123 million from its March IPO, Hong Kong-based PE firm Affinity Equity Partners concurrently bought the remaining 90 per cent stake in the company from its previous owner. This bodes well for the rest of 2025 and even into 2026, with 'several PE-backed companies actively preparing for potential listings' in South-east Asia, said Sheetal Sandhu, partner at Virtus Law. And if the trend of more IPOs continues, 'we could see a virtuous (circle) start to take shape. Successful exits would help ease the 'distribution drought' that's been affecting LPs, which in turn could free up more capital for new investments. That would likely drive greater competition and innovation in the market, support healthier valuations, and attract new players to the region', she added. As the saying goes, a rising tide lifts all boats. While South-east Asia's PE market would need more than a jolt from an IPO revival to come even close to matching the record wave in 'roaring' 2021, a substantial increase in the total deal values would help boost sentiment, and perhaps pave a more concrete path to return to those lofty levels in 2026.
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Business Standard
18-07-2025
- Health
- Business Standard
Health drives snacking choices for 72% of Indians: Consumer insights study
With humble makhana leading the charge, India's snacking market is seeing a clear shift towards healthier options, nudging brands to innovate and laying the path for emergence of new brands in the Indian food and beverages horizon. According to a new consumer insights study unveiled by Farmley at the Indian Healthy Snacking Summit 2025 on Friday, which surveyed about 6,000 people across age groups, health has emerged as a key driver in snacking decisions, with 72 per cent of the surveyed respondents saying they actively seek snacks that offer functional benefits like improved energy, enhanced mood, and higher protein content. Health, with a big dash of taste Taste continues to be of utmost importance, with 94 per cent respondents saying they want snacks that are more nutritious without giving up on taste. Meanwhile, as many as 55 per cent consumers seek snacks with natural, preservative-free ingredients, 'showing that clean labels are now the norm,' the report stated. Roasted and flavoured dry fruits are the most preferred snacks, with 36 per cent respondents choosing them as their go to. 'Makhana has carved out a notable niche at 19 per cent, while classic chips and wafer hold strong with 14 per cent,' it added. Makhana's popularity is highlighted by the fact that 65 per cent consumers actively include it in their diets, the report further added. Health over price As many as two in five of the surveyed people were willing to pay a 20 per cent premium for healthier snacks. According to estimates made by Bain & Co, healthy snacks make up a ~20,000 crore opportunity in India by 2030. The rise of newbies Not just healthier lifestyles, but the rise of quick commerce and emergence of innovative flavours are driving the rise of new brands in the Indian food market, which is seeing a strong activity from insurgent firms. According to analysis from the consulting firm, there has been a 3.5 times growth in food and beverage insurgents versus the market between 2019 and 2023. This trend is set to further gain steam through rising social media awareness and subsequent policy decisions, like the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) mandating sugar and oil boards in schools across the country.
Fast Company
18-06-2025
- Business
- Fast Company
Malaysia's gas-fired power capacity is set to skyrocket. The cause: data centers
Malaysia is expected to add 6–8 gigawatts of gas-fired power by 2030 to address growing electricity consumption driven by demand from data centres, an industry official said. The country is expected to see the fastest surge in data centre power demand in southeast Asia, with its share of electricity consumed by data centres in the region to triple to 21% by 2027 from 7% in 2022, a joint report in May by Bain & Co with others including Google and Temasek showed. Rising gas demand could see Malaysia, the fifth-largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG), start importing the super-chilled fuel in four to five years, the head of state energy firm Petronas told the Energy Asia conference this week. Megat Jalaluddin, CEO of state utility Tenaga Nasional Berhad, said he expects Malaysia to add 6–8 gigawatts of gas-fired power by building new plants and extending the life of existing ones as it looks to cut dependence on coal. That represents a 40–54% increase from the current 15 GW of gas-fired capacity. Total power consumption in Malaysia is on track to increase 30% by 2030, and Malaysia has already invited industry proposals for supply, he said. 'We want to phase out coal responsibly. Then the next best option that can basically take the place of coal is gas,' he told Reuters on the sidelines of the Energy Asia event. Malaysia could also add as much as 10 GW of renewable capacity by 2030, more than doubling the 9 GW currently, as data centres push for access to cleaner sources of power, he said. In the last two years, Malaysia has turned to its coal-fired power plants to address surging demand which grew at the fastest pace in 14 years in 2024, according to energy think-tank Ember. Data centres are expected to require 19.5 GW of power generation capacity by 2035, accounting for 52% of Peninsular Malaysia's electricity use, from about 2% now, Deputy Prime Minister Fadillah Yusof told Reuters. Technology giants including Microsoft, Nvidia, Alphabet's Google and ByteDance have announced billions of dollars in investments in Malaysia since the beginning of last year, powering an infrastructure boom. Malaysia's southern state of Johor has emerged as Southeast Asia's hottest data centre hub due to its proximity to Singapore, relatively cheap land and power and faster approvals, real estate consultancy Knight Frank said in a report.
Business Times
18-06-2025
- Business
- Business Times
Malaysia to build 50% more gas-fired power capacity to meet data centre demand
[KUALA LUMPUR] Malaysia is expected to add 6-8 gigawatts of gas-fired power by 2030 to address growing electricity consumption driven by demand from data centres, an industry official said. The country is expected to see the fastest surge in data centre power demand in South-east Asia, with its share of electricity consumed by data centres in the region to triple to 21 per cent by 2027 from 7 per cent in 2022, a joint report in May by Bain & Co with others including Google and Temasek showed. Rising gas demand could see Malaysia, the fifth-largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG), start importing the super-chilled fuel in four to five years, the head of state energy firm Petronas told the Energy Asia conference this week. Megat Jalaluddin, CEO of state utility Tenaga Nasional, said he expects Malaysia to add 6-8 gigawatts of gas-fired power by building new plants and extending the life of existing ones as it looks to cut dependence on coal. That represents a 40-54 per cent increase from the current 15 GW of gas-fired capacity. Total power consumption in Malaysia is on track to increase 30 per cent by 2030, and Malaysia has already invited industry proposals for supply, he said. 'We want to phase out coal responsibly. Then the next best option that can basically take the place of coal is gas,' he told Reuters on the sidelines of the Energy Asia event. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Friday, 8.30 am Asean Business Business insights centering on South-east Asia's fast-growing economies. Sign Up Sign Up Malaysia could also add as much as 10 GW of renewable capacity by 2030, more than doubling the 9 GW currently, as data centres push for access to cleaner sources of power, he said. In the last two years, Malaysia has turned to its coal-fired power plants to address surging demand which grew at the fastest pace in 14 years in 2024, according to energy think-tank Ember. Data centres are expected to require 19.5 GW of power generation capacity by 2035, accounting for 52 per cent of Peninsular Malaysia's electricity use, from about 2 per cent now, Deputy Prime Minister Fadillah Yusof told Reuters. Technology giants including Microsoft, Nvidia, Alphabet's Google and ByteDance have announced billions of dollars in investments in Malaysia since the beginning of last year, powering an infrastructure boom. Malaysia's southern state of Johor has emerged as South-east Asia's hottest data centre hub due to its proximity to Singapore, relatively cheap land and power and faster approvals, real estate consultancy Knight Frank said in a report. REUTERS
Yahoo
18-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Malaysia to build 50% more gas-fired power capacity to meet data centre demand, official says
By Sudarshan Varadhan and Ashley Tang KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) -Malaysia is expected to add 6-8 gigawatts of gas-fired power by 2030 to address growing electricity consumption driven by demand from data centres, an industry official said. The country is expected to see the fastest surge in data centre power demand in southeast Asia, with its share of electricity consumed by data centres in the region to triple to 21% by 2027 from 7% in 2022, a joint report in May by Bain & Co with others including Google and Temasek showed. Rising gas demand could see Malaysia, the fifth-largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG), start importing the super-chilled fuel in four to five years, the head of state energy firm Petronas told the Energy Asia conference this week. Megat Jalaluddin, CEO of state utility Tenaga Nasional Berhad, said he expects Malaysia to add 6-8 gigawatts of gas-fired power by building new plants and extending the life of existing ones as it looks to cut dependence on coal. That represents a 40-54% increase from the current 15 GW of gas-fired capacity. Total power consumption in Malaysia is on track to increase 30% by 2030, and Malaysia has already invited industry proposals for supply, he said. "We want to phase out coal responsibly. Then the next best option that can basically take the place of coal is gas," he told Reuters on the sidelines of the Energy Asia event. Malaysia could also add as much as 10 GW of renewable capacity by 2030, more than doubling the 9 GW currently, as data centres push for access to cleaner sources of power, he said. In the last two years, Malaysia has turned to its coal-fired power plants to address surging demand which grew at the fastest pace in 14 years in 2024, according to energy think-tank Ember. Data centres are expected to require 19.5 GW of power generation capacity by 2035, accounting for 52% of Peninsular Malaysia's electricity use, from about 2% now, Deputy Prime Minister Fadillah Yusof told Reuters. Technology giants including Microsoft, Nvidia, Alphabet's Google and ByteDance have announced billions of dollars in investments in Malaysia since the beginning of last year, powering an infrastructure boom. Malaysia's southern state of Johor has emerged as Southeast Asia's hottest data centre hub due to its proximity to Singapore, relatively cheap land and power and faster approvals, real estate consultancy Knight Frank said in a report. (Additional reporting by Michele Pek in SingaporeEditing by Tony Munroe and Elaine Hardcastle)
