Now is a great time to invest in Southeast Asia-based companies despite the challenging macro-economic climate, says Albert Shyy, managing director at the investment group Eurazeo.
“Many companies have grown more resilient and adaptable in the face of covid-19 and beyond, and expectations may be more aligned between founders and investors,” adds Shyy, a former corporate venturer who helped Germany-headquartered media group Hubert Burda’s corporate venturing arm, Burda Principal Investments, launch in Singapore.
Shyy remains in Singapore, but recently left his MD role at Burda Principal Investments after five years, during which time he was part of the 2018 roster of Global Corporate Venturing’s Rising Stars. He was previously a principal at Japan-based digital media company Gree’s CVC arm, Gree Ventures, for nearly three years from 2014.
1. Tell us about your background in corporate venture capital.
I moved over to the VC side after spending several years operating ecommerce companies, as a founder and at (e-commerce marketplace) Lazada in Southeast Asia. At the time the venture scene in Southeast Asia was still pretty nascent and spending time at a Rocket Internet-backed company was one of the few ways to see larger-sized funding and scale in the region. That certainly helped in transitioning to the investment side. A few years later, I had an opportunity to join Burda and help open their Singapore office as they wanted to expand their investment activities to this region.
2. What are some of your plans in your new role? Will you still be working with corporates?
Eurazeo has a long-standing track record as an investor in France and Europe and currently manages over $30bn in assets. I’m excited to help deepen Eurazeo’s presence in Asia and to support increasing our investment activity in this region. Specifically, I will be leading a newly-launched $200m fund focusing on the insurtech sector in Southeast Asia, targeting growth stage – series B and C – companies. The fund is backed by a global insurance company so I will definitely be continuing to work with corporates in this role, albeit more as limited partners.
3. What opportunities and challenges do you see in the current environment and in your new role?
Certainly, the macro environment is much more challenging now and there has been a slowdown in later-stage investments which will also likely trickle down to earlier rounds. However, I think it can be a great time to be investing, as many companies have grown more resilient and adaptable in the face of Covid-19 and beyond, and expectations may be more aligned between founders and investors on process and terms. I’ve been very happy with the initial response I’ve received since joining Eurazeo in deal flow and interest from companies and investors, and think there is a strong value proposition in offering a more vertical-focused strategy in the region.
4. What advice would you give the corporate venturing community?
Different CVCs have different mandates and priorities, often balancing between financial and strategic objectives. Ultimately I believe it’s still important to demonstrate financial returns from CVC activity in order for it to be sustainable over the longer term, as well as to ensure alignment with “traditional” investors who will be your co-investors on most deals.
