4/10/2006

Venture Capital to Triple in China

"CHINA will benefit from a huge surge of venture capital this year as the result of tax breaks and eased restrictions on investments, according to interviews with analysts. The most optimistic among the forecasters was Zhou Hongyi, former Yahoo president and now an investor who's on the lookout for hot prospects in start-up firms.

Zhou predicts China will attract US$3 billion in venture capital investment in the 12 months following the second half of this year, triple last year's total. Others said his assessment was on the high side, but all believe more venture capital will pour across the country's borders than last year or the year before.

Some 60 percent of the surge will be directed toward information technology, especially new Web 2.0 applications that include podcasts, blogs and social network services such as platforms for dating and business deals, the experts said."

Read more in this Shanghai Daily article.