Asia logistics firm raising $60 million for expansion

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Southeast Asian last-mile logistics provider Ninja Van is raising at least $60 million in its latest fund-raising round, two sources said, as the Singapore-based company charts an aggressive expansion in key regional markets.

Last-mile delivery companies are shaping up as a new investment front as the likes of Amazon and Alibaba Group expand in undeveloped markets such as Southeast Asia – home to 600 million people and one of the world's fastestgrowing Internet regions.

Emerging markets-focused private equity firm Abraaj Group, the lead investor in Ninja Van's $30-million fund-raising in 2016, is participating in the new series C funding along with other investors, sources said.

Ninja Van's chief executive and cofounder, Lai Chang Wen, told Reuters last month the company was in fund-raising talks but he declined to provide details.

Investment in supply chain and logistics tech start-ups is expanding rapidly. In a report late last year, research firm CB Insights was projecting that $5.3 billion would be invested globally across 315 deals in 2016, double the previous year's $2.5 billion.

The sources, who declined to be named as news of the funding is not public, said Ninja Van tapped Goldman Sachs to work on the fund raising.

Goldman Sachs and Abraaj declined to comment.

Ninja Van, which says its proprietary technology and algorithms optimize routes and fleet management, officially launched its operations in Thailand in August. It has a presence in six countries including Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam.