More than 90% drop in ‘time of uncertainty’ for foreign investment in world’s second-largest economy
Fundraising by China-focused private equity investors has fallen to its lowest level in 13 years, as early-stage backers of the country’s start-up scene grapple with Beijing’s tech crackdown and zero-Covid policies.
Venture capital and private equity funds concentrating on the Greater China region raised just $1.7bn in the first quarter of 2022, according to estimates from industry data provider Preqin, down more than 90 per cent year on year. That marked the smallest haul since the depths of the global financial crisis in 2009.
The steep drop in fundraising by the type of early-stage investors who helped Alibaba and Tencent become global brands underscored growing uncertainty over how to operate in China.
Read more: FT
