Brussels, 07/02/2011 (Agence Europe) - Capital for Enterprise (UK) and CDC Entreprises, a subsidiary of the Caisse des Dépôts (France) announced on Monday 7 February that they were launching a working group to promote the European venture capital industry, complementing existing Community measures. This initiative has already attracted expressions of interest from public and private investment companies, a press release states. The purpose of the working group is to consider and evaluate new programmes and action to be implemented through the EU “in order to support and develop emerging and proven fund management companies. Other European public and private investors are also invited to join the initiative”.
The two institutions welcome the conclusions of the European Council of 4 February which called on the European Commission to present proposals in 2011 for setting up an EU-wide venture capital scheme, building on the European Investment Fund in cooperation with national financial institutions. They, therefore, stand ready to “start promptly a dialogue with European authorities to bring inputs to this initiative”, the press release says. This press release states that the financial crisis of 2008 has dramatically hampered fundraising for venture capital funds, which have seen the amounts raised decrease by €4 billion between 2008 and 2009, from €7.4 billion in 2008 to €3.6 billion in 2009. This falling trend continued in 2010. Consequently, “amounts invested by venture capital in small and medium-sized enterprises decreased from €17 billion in 2006 to €5 billion in 2009”. (L.C./transl.rt)