HSBC is reviewing eight Southeast Asian companies for potential investments from its new debt fund. In an unrelated development, Indonesian digital lender Amar Bank has partnered with aquatech firm eFishery.
HSBC evaluating 8 SE Asian firms for potential debt investment
British financial services group HSBC, which launched a $1 billion ASEAN Growth Fund on Wednesday, is reviewing eight Southeast Asian companies for potential investment from the debt fund, said Riko Tasmaya, managing director, wholesale banking at HSBC Indonesia.
“The review of the eight companies may be completed in the next quarter,” Tasmaya told reporters.
HSBC Indonesia has not disclosed any specific amount for Indonesia from the ASEAN Growth Fund, but it said it is targeting Indonesian growth tech companies with global expansion plans. The ticket size of the ASEAN Growth Fund is around $25-100 million with 1-3 years tenure of financing.
Besides the ASEAN Growth Fund, which will focus on cashflow-generating startups looking to tap debt to grow, HSBC also launched a $150 million Venture Debt Fund, which will focus on Singaporean venture-backed tech startups.
HSBC’s existing portfolio companies include the Indonesian aquatech firm and unicorn eFishery, Atome, and Funding Societies.
“Rapid digital adoption in ASEAN means businesses need fuss-free digital banking partners to support their growth. They want convenient and simple-to-use trade and payment solutions that would free up time for them to focus on strategy and expansion,” Tasmaya explained.
Amar Bank ties up with eFishery
Indonesian lender Amar Bank has partnered with aquatech firm eFishery to provide 100 billion rupiah ($6.3 million) in financing to eFishery’s farmers.
The partnership will also allow eFishery’s farmers to access digital banking services via the eFishery platform.
The partnership is part of Amar Bank’s goal to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Indonesia. The bank will reach out to more SMEs to provide digital banking services, said Benjaman Tampublon, digital banking services function head at Amar Bank.
Founded in 1991, Amar Bank is a fintech pioneer in Indonesia. It launched the country’s first digital financing application Tunaiku, which uses big data and predictive analytics to serve underpenetrated and underbanked segments.
Meanwhile, eFishery is charting overseas growth with a presence in India since Oct last year. It also plans to increase its fish export to the US following its $200 million Series D fundraising in July last year.
eFishery works with over 200,000 fish farmers across 280 cities and regencies in Indonesia. They operate over 1.1 million active ponds.