This chapter provides an overview of private equity and venture capital trends in Thailand and offers a comparison with selected ASEAN peer countries. It presents a detailed analysis of the three main stages of private equity and venture capital activity: fundraising, investment and divestment. The analysis addresses key issues relevant to the geographical and institutional sources of fundraising, the industry distribution of investments and the forms of divestment.
OECD Capital Market Review of Thailand 2025
Abstract
Globally, and in Asia, private capital markets have expanded markedly in recent years, supported by low interest rates, abundant credit and increasing valuations. However, in 2022, as central banks started raising interest rates, activity in private markets experienced a significant decline. Since then, due to subdued valuations and less attractive exit opportunities, many private capital fund managers have struggled to return cash to their investors and overall activity has been muted.
Despite the slowdown in 2022 and 2023, total assets under management (AUM) in private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) reached USD 11.7 trillion by the end of 2024. Both PE and VC continue to offer alternative financing options for non-financial companies - particularly startups, private mid-sized enterprises, distressed firms and public companies pursuing buyouts. Although private capital markets usually include private debt, this asset class is still nascent in Thailand (Deloitte, 2022[1]). Therefore, the analysis below will focus on the PE and VC markets.
Private equity and venture capital follow three main stages: fundraising, investment and divestment. During fundraising, general partners raise capital from institutional and private investors. In the investment stage, this capital is deployed into companies - ranging from early-stage startups for VC to more mature firms for PE - through a process of screening opportunities, structuring deals and providing post-investment support. Finally, in the divestment stage, funds exit their investments via IPOs, trade sales or secondary transfers, returning proceeds to investors. While both operate within defined investment horizons, VC funds often hold their positions longer.
Despite the rising interest rates, fundraising for ASEAN focus funds peaked in 2022, at USD 2.4 billion. This stands in clear contrast to investments of USD 20.4 billion the same year, down from the peak of USD 35 billion in 2021, and almost 20% lower than the previous five-year average. The gap between fundraising and investment has been substantial over the 2015-2024 period, with an average yearly fundraising of USD 1.2 billion relative to an average yearly investment of USD 19.8 billion (Figure 5.1, Panel A). Meanwhile, divestments peaked in 2021 at USD 6.6 billion, decreasing to almost a sixth of that in 2024.
Note: The private equity activity in Panel A is calculated as the ratio between the selected country and total ASEAN activity amounts.
Source: IMF (2025[2]), World Economic Outlook Database, https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2025/april; OECD Capital Market Series dataset; LSEG; see Annex for details.
During the 2015-2024 period, PE and VC funds focusing on Thailand raised USD 1.4 billion, representing 11% of the ASEAN total. This figure is lower than funds focusing on Indonesia (30%), Singapore (28%) and Viet Nam (22%), but higher than in the Philippines (5%) and Malaysia (4%). The absolute numbers for the region are low compared to Asia as a whole. While ASEAN GDP made up around 10-11% of total Asian GDP during the 2015-2024, ASEAN PE and VC accounted for 0.5% of region’s total (Panel A). These numbers do not account for fundraising with a regional focus.
Between 2015 and 2024, PE and VC investment in Thai companies averaged about USD 560 million per year. This represented about 3% of the ASEAN total, the lowest among peers. From 2019 onwards, the average was 4.5% (Panel B). Meanwhile, divestments of Thai companies totalled USD 1.5 billion over the period, representing only 2% of divestments of ASEAN companies. This is the lowest in the region. Among peer countries, Singapore dominates both investments (58%) and divestments (71%) for the period, followed by Indonesia and Malaysia.
Relative to its economic size, Thailand’s PE and VC industries remain underdeveloped compared to peers. Since 2015, Thailand’s share of ASEAN investments and divestments has been consistently lower than its share of regional GDP - on average, investments were about one-fourth and divestments one-eighth of that share (Panel B). Only in 2015 did divestments (13%) approach Thailand’s 17% share of ASEAN GDP. However, investment activity has shown an upward trend since 2019.
PE and VC activity relative to GDP shows a similar picture. Fundraising primarily focusing on one ASEAN country or the region has been low relative to Asia or the global average (Figure 5.2, Panel A). Over the last five years it has represented only 0.03% of GDP. Funds focusing on Thailand raised capital representing only 0.024% of its GDP. The gaps in investment and divestment levels between Thailand and the ASEAN are even wider (Panels B and C).
Note: The shares represent five-year averages between 2020 and 2024.
Source: IMF (2025[2]), World Economic Outlook Database, https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2025/april; OECD Capital Market Series dataset; LSEG, see Annex for details.
Compared to peer countries, PE and VC fundraising was only higher than in Malaysia and the Philippines. Investment levels in Thailand, at 0.14% of GDP, were also the lowest among peers. The few divestments concluded in Thailand in this period represented only 0.004% of GDP, by far the lowest among peer countries. Indonesia and Malaysia had investment levels closer to the ASEAN aggregate of 0.5%, while the figure for Singapore was far higher at 1.83% of GDP (Panel B). Divestment levels in Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines were largely in line with the ASEAN aggregate (Panel C).
Between 2015 and 2024, fundraising with a focus on Thailand was very limited and most of it was done by PE funds (Figure 5.3). Buyout funds made up 62% of the total amount and growth funds 24%. VC represented only 14% of fundraising, 10% of which was made up of early-stage funds. This is similar to funds with a focus on Viet Nam, however growth funds make up the majority of PE funds raised. In other peer countries, as well as ASEAN and Asia as a whole, VC makes up a much larger share of fundraising.
Note: PE denotes private equity and VC venture capital. Funds of funds represents funds raised with the intent to invest in other PE or VC funds and Secondaries are funds raised to invest in shares of funds or target companies sold by other PE and VC funds. The Other category includes funds focusing on turnaround cases and private investment in publicly traded companies, often at a discount.
Source: OECD Capital Market Series dataset, LSEG, see Annex for details.
Globally, in Asia and most of ASEAN, PE investments constitute the highest share of investments by deal value. In ASEAN, PE made up 46% of the total value invested between 2015 and 2024 (Figure 5.4, Panel A). As with fundraising, the share of PE investment activity is lower relative to that of VC. Within the region, Malaysia has the highest share of PE activity (78%), whereas Indonesia has the lowest (24%). The cross-country comparison also highlights that in Indonesia and Thailand the series B round funding deals represent the largest deal types in terms of investment value, at 43% and 39% of the total, respectively. For earlier stage funding, angel and seed deals’ share range from 1% (Thailand) to 3% (Singapore) and series A round funding from 3% (Malaysia) to 11% (Singapore).
After declining activity between 2016 and 2018, investment deal value has been on an upwards trend. Following a peak in 2022, the last couple of years have seen declines, however (Panel B). PE deals constituted most of investments between 2015 and 2019 but have been overtaken by series B round deals in the 2020-2024 period.
In ASEAN, PE and VC investments were focused on four industries: consumer discretionary, healthcare, telecommunications and media, and real estate, together making up 72% of investment value between 2015 and 2024 (Figure 5.5). In most ASEAN countries, these industries were major recipients of investment, except for real estate which was primarily concentrated in Singapore and to a lesser degree Viet Nam. There were other notable variations. In Malaysia, information technology attracted most investment (43%), and in the Philippines raw materials and natural resources were in the top four industries. In Thailand, 95% of investments went to four industries: telecommunications and media (29%), healthcare (28%), consumer discretionary (20%) and business services (18%).
Note: Panel A show shares by deal value.
Source: OECD Capital Market Series dataset, LSEG, see Annex for details.
Note: Shares by deal value.
Source: OECD Capital Market Series dataset, LSEG, see Annex for details.
The final stage of the PE and VC capital deployment cycle is divestment, where funds exit their investments, typically upon reaching the end of the fund’s lifecycle. This stage is critical for realising returns and redistributing capital to investors. Divestment can take several forms, depending on market conditions, the performance of portfolio companies and strategic considerations. Common exit routes include initial public offerings (IPO), which allow the company to access public capital markets; secondary buyouts to other investment firms or financial institutions seeking to expand their portfolios; and trade sales to other companies aiming to gain strategic advantages through acquisitions. Other exit options include management or owner buyouts, where existing stakeholders repurchase the firm; repayment of preference shares or loans, which may have been used to structure the investment; and, in less favourable cases, write-offs, where the investment is deemed unrecoverable. The choice of divestment strategy significantly impacts the overall performance of the PE and VC funds and is often guided by both financial and strategic objectives.
During the 2015-2024 period, divestments in ASEAN amounted to USD 84 billion (Figure 5.6, Panel A). This total is heavily influenced by two major deals in the logistics industry in Singapore in 2018 and 2019. Divestment activity peaked in 2022 and has since been on a downward trend. The Thai PE and VC markets face very limited divestment opportunities (Panel B) (see section 1.5).
Note: Number of divestments include deals without value.
Source: OECD Capital Market Series dataset, LSEG, see Annex for details.
In the ASEAN region, trade sales to strategic buyers, i.e. to companies seeking to grow by acquisitions, has been by far the most common exit route in the last ten years. The share of divestments through trade sales increased from 52% in 2015-2019 to 65% in 2020-2024. This has mainly been at the expense of IPOs and private placements (PP), which decreased from 21% to 7% of the total number of exits. This shift is driven by the larger markets of Singapore and Indonesia, where the number of IPOs and PPs have decreased in both absolute and relative terms. In Thailand, the distribution of exit types was roughly in line with that of the ASEAN in 2019-24.
Note: IPO denotes initial public offerings; Other includes sale to management, write-offs and unspecified exits. Shares by number of deals.
Source: OECD Capital Market Series dataset, LSEG, see Annex for details.
References
[1] Deloitte (2022), Private debt feasibility study: Opportunities for the Thai Capital Market, Deloitte, https://www.cmri.or.th/uploads/images/1667544261Deloitte%20Thailand%20Private%20Debt%20Study%20-%20October%202022%20-%20updated.pdf.
[2] IMF (2025), World Economic Outlook Database, https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2025/april (accessed on 24 October 2025).