July 16, 2018

Golden Equator Capital (GEC) and Korea Investment Partners (KIP) have launched a S$120 million Co-GP Venture Fund to invest in Series A and Series B high-growth technology companies in Southeast Asia (SEA), called “GEC-KIP Technology and Innovation Fund” (GEC-KIP Fund).

Both GEC and KIP will be the General Partners (GPs) of the GEC-KIP Fund which has the mandate to invest into companies based in SEA with a small proportion reserved for Korean companies looking to expand into SEA via Singapore. The average ticket size will be between S$2-5 million with follow-on potential.

To-date, the fund already has 65% committed capital and expects to have its first close by end of August with a targeted final close by the end of the year. This fund also sees strong support from institutional investors as Limited Partners (LPs) that are strategic in value adding to the fund as well as portfolio companies and their potential exits.

Daren Tan, Managing Partner of Golden Equator Capital, said, “We are excited to embark on this cross-learning development with KIP who is a seasoned VC investor with a long, established track record across several markets such as US, China, and Korea. Given the fragmented tech investment landscape in SEA, uniting our strengths and network with KIP further bolsters our position. So, when we invest, it is not just capital; we are essentially also lending our portfolio companies the collective expertise and strategic networks, to accelerate their growth and success in the long run.”

The launch of the GEC-KIP Fund will also see KIP establish its foothold in SEA with Singapore as the headquarter. KIP’s investment professionals will be based in Singapore at SPECTRUM, a curated technology and innovation business club founded by Golden Equator Group. SPECTRUM is also home to the “Korea-Singapore Healthcare Incubator” which was established in September 2017 through an MOU between Golden Equator Group and a Korean entity C&R Healthcare, appointed by the City of Seoul BioHub and Korean Health Industry Development Institution (KHIDI).

Baek Yer Hun, Chief Executive Officer of Korea Investment Partners, said, “We are thrilled to partner with Golden Equator who has built a strong ecosystem in the SEA region through its businesses and its extended network. The fund will be a positive development for the bilateral relationships between Korea and Singapore as well as the venture capital investment landscape, further cementing both GEC and KIP’s positions as leaders in this space.”

The fund was also launched in support of the Singapore-Korea government’s efforts in deepening bilateral relations between the two nations. At the end of last week, an MOU was signed between Enterprise Singapore (ESG) and Ministry of SMEs and Start-ups of the Republic of Korea (MSS) to promote co-innovation and internationalisation co-operations between SMEs and start-ups in Singapore and Korea.

KIP is currently managing 41 funds with AUM of US$2 billion. In the last ten years, KIP has successfully liquidated 12 funds with average Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of 18% and with no net loss on any fund. KIP backs more than 120 companies every year.