The Business Times
ANGEL investors are still making fresh bets on early-stage startups across South-east Asia, drawn by opportunities in up-and-coming sectors such as electric vehicles (EVs), as well as attractive valuations. This is despite the ongoing “tech winter” where institutional investors have tightened their purse strings.
“Downturns are the best time to angel invest. My best angel investments today were made in the early days of the recovery from the Great Recession,” said James Tan, a longtime angel investor whose post-2008 bets include classifieds platform Carousell Group and proptech startup 99 Group (99.co | Rumah123 | SRX) .
In the current tech winter, Tan is bullish on opportunities in Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam. He is also looking into climate and sustainability challenges that are addressable by startups.
Tan, who is also managing partner at venture capital firm Quest Ventures, sees other angel investors being active.
“Wealthy individual investors are stepping up. Without the constraints of rigid fund structures, these angel investors are able deploy faster at current attractive valuations,” he said.
