SVB fallout unlikely to affect fundraising for Southeast Asia startups, venture capitalists say

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SANTA CLARA, CA, US - MARCH 13: People hold extracurricular the Silicon Valley Bank office successful Santa Clara, CA, to retreat funds aft the national authorities intervened upon the bank's collapse, connected March 13, 2023. (Photo by Nikolas Liepins/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Nikolas Liepins | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

The illness of U.S.-based Silicon Valley Bank is improbable to deed fundraising for tech startups successful Southeast Asia, task capitalists and an expert told CNBC.

The slope served galore task superior firms and task capital-backed startups. But past week, depositors rushed to retreat their funds arsenic panic implicit the bank's fiscal concern spread, causing it to collapse.

"I deliberation [the interaction connected fundraising is] a ticker out, but I don't deliberation that contagion spreads," said David Gowdey, managing spouse astatine Southeast Asian task superior steadfast Jungle Ventures, connected CNBC's "Squawk Box Asia" connected Tuesday.

"I deliberation Secretary Yellen and the authorities did a fantastic occupation of stepping successful and taking distant a batch of that risk, creating a batch of stableness successful the markets," helium said. On Sunday, U.S. officials including Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen announced plans to backstop depositors of the bank.

Contagion from SVB's illness  not apt  successful  Southeast Asia, says task   superior  firm

Gowdey said SVB was the firm's superior bank, but added, "We propulsion a batch of that wealth into Southeast Asia, into Singapore banks. And truthful for us, the vulnerability to SVB was not large."

Golden Gate Ventures, which besides invests successful Southeast Asian startups, said the SVB fallout is an accidental for the region.

"This has really been adjuvant to Southeast Asia. It present looks similar a aureate kid to U.S. investors. Investors are starting to say: I privation to diversify to antithetic slope accounts, antithetic geographies, antithetic currencies," Vinnie Lauria, managing spouse astatine Golden Gate Ventures, told CNBC's "Street Signs Asia" connected Tuesday.

"And this is wherever Southeast Asia has the clip to shine, successful airy of the situation," added Lauria.

When asked if the concern makes fundraising much difficult, Gowdey said funds successful Southeast Asia are good capitalized.

"I deliberation it's being selective due to the fact that of the macro environment. [Accessing] the superior volition get harder, but the superior is determination and it's getting deployed," said Gowdey.

VC firms antecedently told CNBC that economic uncertainties person made them pickier with investments successful 2023.

"[In presumption of] entree to superior to tech entrepreneurs, the VCs volition inactive beryllium capable to money them," Ray Wang, laminitis and president of Silicon Valley-based Constellation Research, told CNBC's "Street Signs Asia" connected Tuesday.

"But it's the question astir taking slope loans, having operating capital, being capable to really tally operations and having a slope that understands however a exertion institution works oregon biotech institution works. That's truly what's being mislaid here," added Wang.

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