Asian tech start-ups form plan for Australian invasion

July 14th 2015, By Matthew Smith, AFR 

The favourable treatment enjoyed by start-ups in Singapore and Malaysia will play into the hands of Australian investors as a wave of south-east Asian technology companies are understood to be lining up to hit the Australian Securities Exchange.

Up to a dozen Asian tech companies are preparing to make their ASX debut, with about six likely to reach initial public offering stage before Christmas, according to sources working on the possible listings.

The soon-to-be ASX debutants may be small, both in terms of market capitalisation and revenue, but they have high expectations for growth based on the emerging technology habits of the region’s 630 million population.

Spanning e-commerce, entertainment, fintech and software, these Asian start-ups – all of which have developed within tax-free and government co-funded environments – continue to eye the ASX and Australian investors ahead of their own country’s boards.

“The ASX is now looked upon as the listed VC [venture capital] market for south-east Asia,” said Kin-Wai Lau, chief executive of Fatfish Internet Group, the ASX-listed technology company with duel head offices in Malaysia and Melbourne.

Fatfish partners with both the Malaysian and Singapore governments to co-fund start-ups. Singapore, through its Media Development Authority, invests up to $S1.5 for every $S1 that Fatfish invests in an early-stage company.

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