Venture investments up 69% at $16.4 bn in Q2; strongest-ever quarter by deal values for PE, VC industry: Report

Mumbai: Venture investments grew 69 percent to $16.4 billion in the September quarter on the back of a jump in the number of transactions, a report said on Thursday. This is the strongest-ever quarter by deal values for the private equity and venture capital industry, consultancy firm EY said in the report. Its partner Vivek Soni said deal activity grew across all three main asset classes of private capital including private equity, infrastructure and real estate. “With increasing interest from large global pension and sovereign wealth funds combined with the evolution of new investment structures like InvITs and REITs, we continue to project sustained growth in real asset investments in India,” he said. In a similar report, its rival KPMG also said venture capital investment in India strengthened during the September quarter led by a slew of large deals of over $100 million. However, it was more circumspect on the outlook front. [caption id=“attachment_6013191” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Reuters.[/caption] “VC investment in India is expected to remain strong in the December quarter and the March quarter. However, given the current credit squeeze it might not be as robust as it has been over the past two quarters,” it said. The EY report said that exits have been subdued as the total number stood at $8.1 billion for the first three quarters as against $8.5 billion in the same period last year, the data said. “The Governments step to rationalise corporate tax rate and introduce positive changes to the FPI policy are steps in the right direction and increase the attractiveness of India for long-term capital investment relative to it’s emerging markets peers,” it said. From a fundraising perspective, the report said there was an 11.5 percent dip at $2.3 billion of new firepower being raised.