Asia's VC investment rose to $15.6b in 4Q2017

This was highly driven by two massive $4b investments in China.

KPMG Enterprise reported that venture capital (VC) investments in Asia reached a 6-quarter high, with a total of $15.6b across 245 deals in 4Q2017.

Despite the decline in the total number of VC deals, the increase in Asia’s VC investments in Q4 boosted its total investments for the year, raising over $45b in 2017.

Half of the total investments came from two massive $4b mega-deals in China, one by Didi-Chuxing and the other by Meituan-Dianping.

“Over the last 2 quarters, Chinese investors have become more strategic with respect to their global investments, focusing primarily on value-added technologies or on geographic or vertical growth. Many of the big tech giants in China have increasingly eyed Southeast Asia for growth opportunities,” KPMG said.

For 2018, VC is expected to grow, with autotech, artificial intelligence, and enterprise services leading the increase in investments, KPMG said.