Chinese venture capital investors are shifting their focus to Indonesia after India closed its doors to them, helping to create a 55 per cent surge in tech investment in south-east Asia’s biggest economy in the first half of 2020. Shunwei Capital, launched by the founders of mobile phone maker Xiaomi, and BAce Capital, which is backed by the fintech giant Ant Group, both said they were pivoting from India to Indonesia.
Chinese VC and tech investors powered a tech boom in India, investing in many of the country’s leading start-ups, including payments company Paytm, meal delivery company Zomato and Byju’s, an education platform. But in April New Delhi unveiled sweeping rules targeting opportunistic Chinese takeovers, spooking investors and cutting off crucial funding for tech start-ups. Zomato, for instance, is yet to receive $100m in funding from Ant. Last week, India blacklisted 43 more Chinese apps.
Indonesia, the world’s fourth most populous country, already boasts the largest number of billion-dollar start