Southeast Asian e-commerce and gaming giant, Sea Ltd (SE.N), is reportedly winding down its investment arm, Sea Capital, due to a cooling investment environment globally. Sources indicate that Sea Capital ceased new equity investing in 2022, with leadership moving on in May, while Sea itself is placing less emphasis on investing given the current market conditions.
The decision to close the two-year-old investment arm comes as investors, both funds and firms, have become more cautious about investing due to higher interest rates and market uncertainty brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sea Capital had made at least three investments, including in the now-collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX. The entire team of Sea Capital has reportedly been disbanded and moved to other roles within the company, while the arm itself will still exist on paper as its investments remain valid. Sea Ltd, which owns e-commerce platform Shopee and online gaming developer Garena, declined to comment on the matter.
