Hong Kong government’s venture fund eyes bigger bankroll after double-digit return The government’s investment arm achieved a double-digit internal rate of return last year, greater than many newly established venture capital funds, according to its CEO. “Many overseas funds have a J-curve performance, as they tend to suffer an initial loss before a gain,” said Clara Chan Ka-chai, CEO of Hong Kong Investment Corporation (HKIC). “But we have already bypassed the J-curve, as we have earned HK$2.3 billion [US$293 million] in 2024, while we have achieved a double-digit rate of return in 2025.” The strong performance, which will be detailed in HKIC’s annual report next month, came from many of its 200 investment projects achieving their growth targets, Chan said in a meeting of the Legislative Council’s Financial Affairs Panel on Monday. Several lawmakers during the session expressed support for Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po’s plan, announced in his budget, to inject additional funding into HKIC, but also wanted more details. Chan, who attended the meeting on Monday, said the government would disclose the size of the injection later, but he added that it would be needed soon as HKIC had already invested almost the entire sum it had on hand. Backed by the government’s reserves, HKIC was established in 2022 to boost the city’s economy and innovation industry. As of March, it managed HK$62 billion (US$8 billion) in government funds. “The government reserves are now managed by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, which has done a great job to achieve a very good return,” Chan said. “But the HKMA investment is mainly in finance vehicles, while the HKIC investment promotes innovation and technology development in the city, which is important to the future economy of Hong Kong.” He added that HKIC would take the lead in setting up an offshore yuan-denominated venture capital fund to channel capital into cutting-edge technology and emerging industries. Chan unveiled the plan for the offshore renminbi venture fund on Sunday in a blog post, but only revealed the role of the HKIC on Monday. He did not disclose a launch date. “There are a lot of companies and investors who have offshore yuan, and would like to use the currency to make investments,” he said. “The HKIC will take the lead to set up this new yuan-denominated fund and to attract other investors to participate. This will support the internationalisation of the yuan and strengthen Hong Kong as an international yuan trading centre.” Clara Chan said that after receiving more government funding, the HKIC would invest more in the Northern Metropolis megaproject, financial infrastructure and Web3 projects, alongside its current three major investment themes of artificial intelligence, biotechnology and new energy. The Northern Metropolis project aims to turn 30,000 hectares (74,132 acres) of land near the border with mainland China into a technological and economic hub. Besides returns, HKIC’s investment projects had also contributed to the city’s real economy, Chan said. “Many HKIC-invested companies have relocated their headquarters or research centres to Hong Kong, she said. “There are 10 HKIC-invested firms listed in Hong Kong already, while 30 others have applied or plan to apply to list here. There is one company which initially wanted to list in London but eventually shifted to list in Hong Kong after the HKIC investment.” Among HKIC’s 200 investments, 40 per cent were Hong Kong or Greater Bay Area companies, while 70 per cent were in companies at the growth stage, she said, adding that these investments created 6,400 new jobs and occupied 268,000 square metres of office area. Besides its direct investments, HKIC had also brought together start-ups and well-established companies to collaborate through its many networking activities, Chan said, adding that HKIC had teamed up with universities to study more than 100 projects. https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3355522/hong-kong-governments-venture-fund-eyes-bigger-bankroll-after-double-digit-return?pgtype=live (ICE HONG KONG)

Fonte notizia: South China Morning Post