Global Investment Heats Up In Southeast Asia, Middle East

A blockbuster number of companies might go public in Thailand in 2021, CNBC reported. Ken Fong, head of equity capital market research for Asia-Pacific at Dealogic, told CNBC that the country typically has approximately 30 public listings annually, while data showed that most typically arrive in third and fourth quarters. The country has seen 14 listings to date in 2021. Its initial public offering (IPO) space now seems to be “on track to have a record year,” Fong said, as per the report. Beyond Thailand, the Philippines experienced a relatively formidable performance in its IPO space on the heels of Monde Nissin’s debut.

And investment in British “deep tech” firms has quickly risen during the last half of a decade, reaching £2.3 billion (approximately $3.2 billion) last year, according to a Wednesday (June 16) post from the British Business Bank. However, the organization noted that British “deep tech” firms bring in much less sizable rounds of funding than the same kinds of firms in the United States. To that end, the bank says that the average British “deep tech” firm lands £24 million (approximately $33.9 million) following six rounds of funding. By contrast, the average U.S. “deep tech” firm lands £113 million (approximately $159.3 million) following six rounds.

In other news, the Middle East might be home to a rising number of unicorns the near future, CNBC reported. “We’re not very far from having a few more unicorns in the region,” Careem CEO Mudassir Sheikha told CNBC. “The momentum in the ecosystem is just incredible.” The Middle East and North Africa is home to 16 unicorns as of April 2021, CNBC reported, citing Statista data. For its part, ridesharing firm Careem was the Middle East’s first unicorn. Uber bought the firm in 2019 for $3.1 billion. Careem, according to its website, “is expanding services across its platform to include mass transportation, delivery and payments to become the region’s everyday SuperApp.” The CNBC report also noted that Souq.com, which is based in the UAE, was purchased by Amazon in 2017.