Report: China’s government establishes $30 billion VC fund

Image credit: David Dennis.

Is China’s venture capital market about to get a major new player? According to China’s Economic Observer, insiders say that the government has approved the establishment of a state-owned US$30 billion VC fund in Shenzhen.

According to the report, the fund will launch with an initial sum of US$15 billion, but a planned increase will raise that total to US$30 billion eventually. The company was supposedly registered on August 8 – an auspicious day because the number eight is considered good luck in China – and the official announcement will supposedly come today (August 18).

One of the fund’s reported goals is to fund technological innovation, which suggests a good chunk of that US$30 billion could find its way into China’s tech market.

If this report proves true, the new fund will be only a small part of China’s state-owned VC funding, though. Another state-owned VC fund already has over US$300 billion to throw at startups, and of course the state has a stake in myriad other companies and funds that can be used for venture investment.