Beacon Venture Capital (Beacon VC), the corporate VC arm of Kasikornbank (KBank), expects to complete 15 investment deals worth US$28 million this year both locally and internationally.
According to Thanapong Na Ranong, Beacon VC's managing director, the deals in the pipeline come from the company's three investment funds: the Synergistic Fund, the Opportunistic Fund and the new Beacon Impact Fund.
Of the total deals, 10 would come from the Beacon Impact Fund, which was launched yesterday, with a total investment budget of $30 million, around 1.2 billion baht, for an investment period of three years, he said.
Beacon Impact Fund seeks to invest in startups that tackle a broad array of problems related to the environment, social and corporate governance (ESG).
For investment in environmental issues, the fund will concentrate on startups and those paying attention to decarbonisation, waste reduction and climate adaptation, said Mr Thanapong.
Regarding social issues, the investment focus is on financial and digital inclusion, financial and digital literacy, and access to healthcare.
For governance issues, the fund is keen on startups and those interested in consumer protection, supply chain visibility and business transparency.
He said the Beacon Impact Fund expects to complete around five deals this year with an investment value of 400 million baht on average.
The company is in discussion with several startups in sectors such as electric vehicle-related businesses and agriculture technology.
Given the sustainable goals of the Beacon Impact Fund, the company wants to invest in ESG-related startups for more than five years, compared with the 3-5 year investment period of other investment strategies.
In addition, the company is seeking ESG consultants to advise on returns.
Government agencies, financial institutions and large corporations have all been paying more attention to ESG policies.
These organisations are seeking new solutions to help them achieve ESG goals, and startups are well-positioned to develop innovations to accelerate the shift to a sustainable economy, said Mr Thanapong.
Beacon also wants to participate to support ESG, he said.
According to Mr Thanapong, Beacon has operated a corporate venture business for six years and generated a satisfactory return on investment.
The company continues to search for greater investment opportunities both locally and internationally, he said.
KBank, the country's second-largest lender by total assets, allocated 200 billion baht to support financial facilities for ESG-related projects.
