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Kiwi gov't extends underwriting of venture investment fund

Xinhua, July 13, 2015 Adjust font size:

The New Zealand government is to extend the underwriting of its venture investment fund through to 2022, Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce said Monday.

The government would extend its underwrite facility for the New Zealand Venture Investment Fund (NZVIF) of 100 million NZ dollars (67.12 million U.S. dollars) till 2018, reducing it to 60 million NZ dollars (40.27 million U.S. dollars) until 2022 as investment returns became available for reinvestment, Joyce said in a statement.

The NZVIF had played an important role in developing the start- up and growth capital markets for New Zealand-originated companies with high-growth potential, he said.

"It has been instrumental in building up New Zealand's angel and venture capital investor markets from small beginnings to the point where private and public venture capital investment since 2003 has reached 1.1 billion NZ dollars (738.21 million U.S. dollars)," said Joyce.

"The angel investment formal market has provided a further 353 million NZ dollars (236.89 million U.S. dollars) since it started in 2006."

The government expected NZVIF to become self-sustaining over time, and the extension of this guarantee would give the fund the time to make that adjustment.

Since its establishment as a government-owned and funded company, NZVIF has invested 147 million NZ dollars (98.65 million U.S. dollars), alongside private investors, into 187 of promising New Zealand growth companies. Endi