Despite downturn VCs pour into India

The global economic downturn notwithstanding, venture capital investments have continued to flow into India and China, with both countries witnessing a significant surge in the third quarter this year.

According to a study by research firm Venture Intelligence, venture capital investment in India grew 36 per cent at 290 million dollars for the third quarter ended September 30.

Meanwhile in Mainland China, VC investments grew 22 per cent to 964 million dollars at the end of the third quarter, as per the data by Dow Jones VentureSource.

"It's clear that venture capital investors are still eager to put money into the emerging marketplace and, in many areas, they're actually accelerating the pace of their investments," Dow Jones VentureSource Global Research Director Jessica Canning said.

The increased investment by existing players and the entry of new funds contributed to the growth this quarter, the Venture Intelligence study stated.

"The pace of VC investments in India seems to be accelerating despite the turmoil in global financial markets," Venture Intelligence Founder and CEO Arun Natarajan said.

Meanwhile, as the number of VC deals nearly doubled in India to 49, China witnessed a saw the number dipping to 59 from 73 in the same period last fiscal.

"Larger deals drove investment in the third quarter as the median size of a venture deal in China remained at USD 10 million, which is the highest on record and the most out of any region we track, including the US," Canning said.

However, the venture capitalists shied away from investing in the Information Technology and IT-enabled Services (IT & ITeS) industry in China, the sector remained favourite among the VC firms invested in India.

Source: PTI