US fund focuses on new IT portfolio

The US-headquartered International Data Group, or IDG, plans to create two venture-capital funds that will invest in the IT sector by 2012, according to its chief.

Founder and chairman Patrick J McGovern told the media while attending a recent press briefing on an IT, telecommunication, and electronics exhibition in Ha Noi that they would have a combined corpus of US$400 million.

The first fund, worth $150 million, will be created next year.

It will target companies that have been in operation for just one or two years, have good potential, but face funding issues.

The other will be set up in 2012 with $250 million to be invested in firms that are at least two year old and have recognisable products and brands.

This fund will later expand its scope to health care, education and eventually retail.

IDG Ventures Vietnam set up the country’s first technology venture-capital fund in 2004 with a corpus of $100 million. Nguyen Bao Hoang, the fund’s managing director, said the entire amount was already invested or committed. — VNS

Tags: IDG funds