Venture capital fundraising falls in Q1

Chinese venture capital fundraising fell during the first quarter of 2013 from the previous quarter, according to a report by Dow Jones VentureSource.

A total of five funds garnered $442 million in the first three months, a decline of 44 percent in the number of funds and 39 percent in the amount of capital raised from the previous quarter, the report showed.

Venture fundraising declined by an even greater proportion compared with the first quarter of 2012, with the number of funds falling by 55 percent and the amount raised dropping by 65 percent.

Huatai Zijin (Jiangsu) Equity Investment Fund, the largest Chinese venture capital fund of the year , raised $318 million, accounting for 72 percent of the total amount raised during the first quarter of 2013.

Despite a 76 percent drop in capital raised from the previous quarter, consumer services companies received 51 percent of all allocated venture investment, raising $222 million through 11 deals.

Business and financial services companies reported a 26 percent increase in amount invested from the previous quarter, raising $106 million in seven deals during the first quarter. However, the investment figure represents a drop of 48 percent from the same period of last year.

IT companies received $78 million through 7 deals during the first quarter, a drop of 42 percent in deal flow but an increase of 26 percent in capital raised from the previous quarter.