China: 2nd biggest VC target
昨日公布的一项调查显示，尽管去年英国初创企业的融资额增长了27%，达到约14亿英镑，但中国仍取代英国，成为世界第二大风险投资目的国。
China overtook the UK as the world’s second-biggest destination for venture capital investments last year, in spite of a 27 per cent rise in British early-stage company funding to about £1.4bn, a survey revealed yesterday.
总部位于剑桥的创业研究中心Library House表示，如果印度的风险资本投资延续2006年90%的增速，到2009年，印度的排名也将超过英国。
Library House, the Cambridge-based entrepreneurship research centre, said India was also due to overtake the UK by 2009 if Indian venture capital investments continued to grow at the 90 per cent rate seen in 2006.
这项调查是由瑞银财富管理(UBS Wealth Management)委托进行的。调查预计，英国今年的风险资本投资可能降至10亿至12亿英镑，相当于2003年的水平。
The report, commissioned by UBS Wealth Management, forecast that UK venture capital could decline to £1bn-£1.2bn this year, equivalent to 2003 levels.
培育创业文化一直是”新工党(New Labour)”的宏伟蓝图之一，但此项调查将引发人们担忧英国的创业活动不仅落后于美国，还落后于以更快速度增长的亚洲经济体。
Fostering an entrepreneurial culture has been one of New Labour’s main ambitions and the report will raise concerns that the country is falling behind not only the US but also faster growing Asian economies.
调查报告指出，中国和印度的崛起分流了英国初创企业的资金。这与英国风险投资家所谓该领域正在强劲复苏的说法大相径庭。
By arguing that funding for British start-up companies is being cannibalised by the rise of China and India, the report clashes with claims from British venture capitalists that their sector is recovering strongly.
英国领先风险投资公司DFJ Esprit的首席执行官西蒙•库克(Simon Cook)表示：”风险资本已走向全球。美国资金向印度和中国进行了大量投资，我预计欧洲资金明年也将出现类似情况。”
Simon Cook, chief executive of DFJ Esprit, a leading UK-based venture capitalist, said: “Venture capital has gone global. There has been a lot of capital invested in India and China by US funds and I expect that to come to Europe next year.”
近年来，大规模杠杆收购基金的快速兴起令风险资本相形见绌。英国风险投资家在互联网泡沫破裂后遭受严重亏损，他们一直未能摆脱人们的这种观念：他们的回报比大型杠杆收购基金低。
Venture capital has been overshadowed in recent years by the rapid rise of big leveraged buy-out funds. Haunted by losses suffered after the bursting of the dotcom bubble, venture capitalists in Britain have struggled to escape the idea they make lower returns than their bigger LBO cousins.
Library House高级分析师罗杰•弗兰克林(Roger Franklin)表示，从今年上半年的风险资本投资水平推断，英国2007年的风险资本投资可能会减少10%至20%。这可能直接源自中国和印度风险投资活动的快速增长。中国去年的风险资本投资增长了50%至60%。
Roger Franklin, senior analyst at Library House, said extrapolations from venture capital investment levels in the first half of 2007 suggested the UK was on track to see a decline of 10 to 20 per cent this year. This could be a direct result of the rapid growth in Chinese and Indian venture capitalist activity. Chinese VC investments rose by 50 to 60 per cent last year.
弗兰克林表示：”中国和印度的增长水平如此之高，可能会从更成熟的市场吸引部分资金。特别是美国的风险投资，也许已经将资金从欧洲转向了亚洲。”
“With that high level of growth in China and India it is possible that they could be sucking some money out of more mature markets,” said Mr Franklin. “US venture capital funds, in particular, may have been moving money from Europe to Asia.”
