KUALA LUMPUR: Total committed funds under management in the Malaysian private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) industry amounted to RM24.7 billion as at the end of 2024.
PE accounted for RM18.01 billion while VC committed funds totalled RM6.7 billion, the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) said in its Annual Report 2024.
For PE, the commitments are sourced largely from corporate investors (40.91 per cent), individuals and family offices (16.77%) and financial institutions (13.27%).
For VC, the top three sources of funding were government agencies and investment companies (35.99%), sovereign wealth funds (20.15%) and individuals and family offices (19.55%).
According to the report, the top three registered corporations by amount of investor commitments as at end-2024 were Creador, Gaia Investment Partners and Xeraya Capital.
VC investments last year concentrated on growth stage (44.6%), followed by early stage (35.98%) and startup stage (13.44%) opportunities, the SC said.
Meanwhile, PE investments were primarily channelled into growth stage (83.82%), with some investments made in early-stage opportunities (16.18%).
In total, 90 VC and PE deals were recorded in 2024, it said.
In terms of target industries, the SC said wholesale and retail trade saw the highest share (13.65%) of VC investment in 2024, followed by other service activities (11.92%), and professional, scientific and technical activities (10.94%).
As for PE, it said investments were largely channelled to technology services (19.6%) in 2024, followed by manufacturing (15.18%) and financial and insurance/takaful activities (7.11%).
The SC said divestments in PE portfolios during 2024 were mainly exits in the growth stage, while the majority of divestments in VC were early-stage positions, followed by growth stage.
“Exits in 2024 were primarily through initial public offering (IPO) or sale to public markets and redemption of shares,” it added.
On equity crowdfunding (ECF), the SC said total funds raised in 2024 fell by 23% to RM97.57 million compared to RM126.28 million in 2023, with a similar declining trend observed in the number of successful campaigns, which dropped to 35 from 51 in the previous year.
“Wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles received the highest funding in 2024, amounting to RM24.67 million. Meanwhile, the agriculture, forestry, and fishing sectors experienced significant growth, with the total amount raised doubling to RM17.81 million in 2024,” it said.
The total number of issuers decreased to 35 in 2024 from 51 in the preceding year.
“While 77% of ECF issuers were based in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur, growing interest can be observed from issuers outside the Klang Valley, including those from Kelantan and Negeri Sembilan, constituting 6% of the total issuers,” it said.
The total number of investors decreased by 24% to 3,099 in 2024 from 4,095 in the previous year.
First-time investors comprised 15% of ECF investors last year, the report said.
On peer-to-peer (P2P) financing, the SC said total funds raised grew by 20% to RM2.51 billion last year from RM2.09 billion in 2023, while total campaigns rose to 34,512 from 31,002.
“Campaign sizes in 2024 continued to be of smaller fundraising amounts, with 66 per cent of campaigns raising RM50,000 and below. Wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles remained the largest sector served in 2024, raising RM1.28 billion and contributing 51% of the total fundraising for the year,” it said.
As at end-2024, the report stated that the total number of issuers stood at 19,956.
In 2024 alone, the total number of issuers decreased by 3% to 5,206 from 5,359 in 2023.
The total number of participating investors has exceeded 38,000 since P2P financing was first introduced.
“In 2024, there was a slight increase of 0.2% in the total number of investors to 15,628 from 15,599 in 2023,” it said. – Bernama
