Asset management and private equity investment firm Golden Equator Capital is set to raise $80-$100 million for its second Technology and Innovation Fund. It plans to close this fund in the first quarter of 2017, as first reported by DealStreetAsia.
Golden Equator Capital had closed its first technology and innovation fund at around the $40 million mark, and had already initiated work on raising a larger follow-on fund.
Golden Equator’s chief executive and managing director Shirley Crystal Chua told that they launched its second vehicle last month targeting up to $100 million. The second fund plans to invest on Asian tech startups and consumer internet firms with a focus on enterprise solutions especially on fintech and digital marketplace. The first fund has made 10 investments and she said, four of them are really doing well. The valuation is up significantly, about 40 per cent, for the first fund.
Golden Equator Capital’s strong focus on fintech supports government’s initiatives and steps in order to reinvent itself the island state into a fintech hub. Shirley further commented,
We are encouraging our clients to attribute up to 20 per cent of their portfolio to diversify into the venture space. Technology will be the next wave. About 20 years ago, we could get a 100 per cent return on real estate but we have recently seen technology yielding up to a 1,000 per cent return when invested in the right companies at the right time.
They are not just investing in Singapore-headquartered companies but they also fuel capital in those which have their offices in Singapore and do the business around the region in Asia.
The private equity firm has invested in companies including dating platform Paktor, food tech startup Eunoia, career discovery and development platform Glint, and many more. Investors are offered a variety of investment options under the umbrella fund, Golden Equator Enterprise Fund. It has three sub-funds including the Technology and Innovation fund, the other two are Development Fund 1 and Prime Currency Fund. The former focuses on real estate development projects in Asia while the latter aims to employ a strategy that combines the investment in debt instruments with the trading of major currencies.
As a Registered Fund Management Company, Golden Equator Capital is regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Its business activities are governed by the Securities and Futures Act (SFA), which requires that it complies with regulatory standards including, among others, client confidentiality, prevention of money laundering, audit, competency requirements and use of service providers.
