New €150m fund to support Irish companies growing in China

A new €150 million Sino-Irish fund is to target high-growth Irish technology firms with an ambition to access the Chinese market, and Chinese firms seeking to use Ireland as a base for European operations.

A joint venture between the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) and the Beijing based CIC Capital Corporation (CIC Capital), the fund is a successor to the now fully-invested $100 million China Ireland Technology Growth Fund. That fund helped six Irish technology firms expand in China, including Swrve, a mobile marketing automation and engagement platform, and Movidius, which was acquired by Intel in 2016, and today these firms employ 350 people in Ireland.

Eugene O’Callaghan, director of ISIF said the new fund will offer a strong economic return to Ireland, as Chinese companies looking to gain access to Europe use Ireland as a base for their operations.

“The Irish companies that will benefit from the fund will gain from the opportunities to grow their business and product potential in the Chinese market,” he said.

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This time around, the new fund will place a stronger focus on targeting Chinese companies who wish to use Ireland as a base to access the European market, as well as continuing to invest in Irish companies with a strategic interest in accessing China. Its target sectors include hardware opportunities underpinning next generation products, such as Internet of Things (IoT) and mobile devices, and software applications such as big data, robotics and artificial intelligence (AI), all areas of strength for both Ireland and China.

Vice chairman and president of CIC, Tu Guangshao, said: "Irish companies supported by the fund could bring cutting-edge technologies and innovations to China, meanwhile Chinese companies could explore the access to the European market through the fund."

It will again be co-managed by Dublin-based Atlantic Bridge and Beijing-based WestSummit Capital