KUALA LUMPUR (March 27): Total committed funds in both private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) rose 8.45% to RM16.08 billion in 2022 from RM14.83 billion in 2021, according to the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC)’s Annual Report 2022 released on Monday (March 27).

Of the total RM16.08 billion, RM10.71 billion was for PE while RM5.37 billion was for VC.

PE’s commitments were sourced largely from corporate investors (33.4%), individuals and family offices (16.97%), and financial institutions (12.78%).

Meanwhile, government agencies and investment companies (36.01%), sovereign wealth funds (27.27%) and corporate investors (22.68%) make up the top three sources of VC funding.

The top three registered corporations by amount of investor commitments as at end-2022 were Creador, Xeraya Capital, and Malaysia Venture Capital Management Bhd (Mavcap).

VC investments in 2022 concentrated on growth (48.18%), followed by early stage (36.53%) and seed (10.54%) opportunities.

For PE, the investments were primarily channelled into growth plays (64.87%), with some investments made to early-stage opportunities (28.20%), followed by bridge, mezzanine and pre-initial public offering (IPO) investments (6.85%).

In total, 34 VC and 38 PE deals were recorded in 2022.

In terms of target industries, medical and biotechnology (34.83%) saw the highest share of VC investment in 2022, followed by information and communication (16.45%), and financial and insurance/takaful activities (12.70%).

As for PE, investments were largely channelled to wholesale and retail trade (53.66%) in 2022, followed by healthcare (13.45%) and manufacturing (13.41%).

In terms of divestments, PE portfolios during 2022 were mainly exits in the growth stage, while most divestments in VC were early-stage positions, followed by growth. While trade sales and secondary sales remain common routes for liquidity, 2022 saw several exits via IPOs.

Meanwhile, the total number of registered corporations stood at 129 as at Dec 31, 2022, of which the VC segment accounted for 109 registered corporations while the PE segment consisted of 20 registered corporations.

As at end-2022, the number of professionals employed by the industry with at least four years' experience stood at 229.

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