Venture capital funding in Southeast Asia at record: industry

A man walks past a Grab office in Singapore March 26, 2018. REUTERS/Edgar Su/Files

Funding by venture capital (VC) firms in South-east Asian start-ups has risen to a record so far this year, surpassing the total investments made in 2017, industry data showed. EVenture capital investments jumped to US$3.16bil (RM13.13bil) over the first eight months of this year, up 16% from US$2.72bil (RM11.3bil) for all of last year, the Singapore Venture Capital and Private Equity Association said.

"The environment has become much more vibrant with a number of players pouring money into the sector," Thomas Lanyi, chairman of the association, told a news conference.