While global public markets show positive signs of recovery, Southeast Asia’s journey toward establishing clear and dependable exit pathways for its digital leaders remains critical for long-term investor confidence.
The e-Conomy SEA 2025 report, prepared by Google, Temasek, and Bain & Company, confirms that investor sentiment is highly focused on exit viability, alongside a proven path to profitability.
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Global uplift, regional lag
Globally, signs of public market exits are emerging, marked by rising volumes of Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) across exchanges like the NASDAQ, HKEX, and SSE Star. In H1 2025, the Americas and the regions of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa saw IPO volumes increase by 11 per cent and 3 per cent, respectively, compared to H2 2024.
In contrast, the SEA-6 region experienced a 21 per cent decline in IPO activity during H1 2025. Despite trailing the global recovery, the regional pipeline remains robust.
The strong local pipeline
Digital leaders in SEA are working actively towards listing, demonstrating a strong regional pipeline that signals hope for recovery:
- Indonesia’s Exchange (IDX): Aiming for 66 listings this year.
- Malaysia’s Exchange (KLSE): Aiming for 60 listings this year.
Together, IPOs in Indonesia and Malaysia accounted for approximately 70 per cent of the region’s total IPO volume over the last 12 months, cementing their role as regional market leaders for public exits. Singapore also maintains an intense preparatory phase, with 30 IPOs currently in the pipeline.
Importance of exit pathways for VC
Investor expectations underscore the need for clearer exit strategies. Dependable exit pathways are listed as one of the four key factors contributing to profitability and investor confidence, alongside realistic entry valuations, clear paths to profitability, and proven monetisation models.
The cautious uptick in private funding, particularly towards late-stage companies, is inherently linked to the anticipation of healthier exit avenues, either through IPOs or through acquisitions driven by the large cash reserves amassed by established local digital leaders.
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As the region moves into its next digital decade, the convergence of increasing profitability (with 80 per cent of early-stage portfolio companies now profitable) and more apparent IPO activity in key markets is essential for restoring complete, long-term investor confidence and driving continued capital deployment across the technology ecosystem.
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