VCs Backing Startups in India and Southeast Asia

Startups and their venture capital (VC) backers have had a difficult few months. Unicorns, such as Southeast Asia's largest ride-hailing and food-delivery company Grab, e-commerce behemoth Sea Limited, and Indian firms Paytm, Zomato, and Freshworks, are examples of growth stocks that went public recently but have underperformed the market.

Grab and Sea Limited, both of which are publicly traded in the United States, are down 65 percent year to date. Zomato, an Indian delivery company, is down 49%, while Paytm, a fintech company, is down 53%. Both are listed in India, though Freshworks, a Nasdaq-listed software company, has lost 40% of its value this year. In comparison, the Sensex has dropped only 6% and the S&P 500 index has dropped 14% since the beginning of the year.

Rising interest rates and inflation have impacted these growth stocks, which the market views as bad for newer businesses that need loans to expand quickly. The threat of a recession, as well as the uncertainty created by supply chain issues and the Ukraine-Russian conflict, aren't helping matters.

Indeed, three of Jungle Ventures' companies have postponed their IPO plans, according to Amit Anand, co-founder of the Singapore-based venture capital firm. "In the mid to long term, the companies will definitely go public," he said.