First EU-China investment fund raises 600m euros for mid-sized companies

BRUSSELS - A First EU-China investment fund backed by the Juncker Plan has raised 600 million euros ($694.5 million) for mid-sized companies, the European Commission has said.

Cathay Capital has raised an initial 600 million euros for its fund Cathay Midcap II, which targets 1.2 billion euros to finance mid-cap companies, according to a Commission statement on Monday.

The fund is backed by the European Investment Fund under the Juncker Plan's European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), as well as the China Development Bank, French national promotional bank Bpifrance, China's Silk Road Fund, sovereign funds, institutional and other private investors.

It is the first fund to be set up under the China-EU Co-investment Fund (CECIF) program, which was established by the EIF and SRF with the aim of developing synergies between the Belt and Road Initiative and the Juncker Plan.

The fund will support mid-cap companies with high growth potential in Europe and China, in areas such as healthcare, high-end industries, consumer goods and business services.

"We have been working towards this moment since we set up the EU-China working group in 2015 in Beijing. I am very pleased that we are now seeing the fruits of that labour and that the Cathay Midcap fund will finance European and Chinese high potential mid-cap businesses in strategically important sectors," said Jyrki Katainen, Commission vice-president responsible for jobs, growth, investment and competitiveness.

"This is a very good example of how private and public investors can work together," he added.