China plans new measures to attract venture capital investment

CHINA plans to introduce fresh measures to encourage venture capital into the country’s technology sector, including from overseas.

International investors will be able to set up yuan funds in China to facilitate domestic investments, while qualified institutions will be encouraged to issue corporate bonds and debt financing instruments to help fund their investments, the government said on Wednesday (Jun 19). State-owned enterprises will also be urged to invest in industry leaders with advanced technologies.

China has made technological self-sufficiency a priority as it tries to advance domestic chip design and manufacturing to protect against US policy threats.

Venture capital investment in China fell by more than 7 per cent to its lowest in four years in 2023 as investors cooled on startups amid concerns about the economy and regulations. The total value fell to US$69.9 billion over about 4,200 deals, the lowest US dollar amount since 2019, according to data collated by Preqin. BLOOMBERG