CDC plans SE Asia fund

CDC plans SE Asia fund

MANILA (AFP): Taiwan's China Development Corp. (CDC) will
organize a billion dollar venture capital fund to invest in four
Southeast Asian countries hit by currency crises, a Philippine
subsidiary of the firm said yesterday.

The fund will funnel investments into the Philippines,
Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, the three Southeast Asian
countries most affected by the currency crisis, said Joseph
Tseng, president of CDC subsidiary Sino-Philippines Asset
Management Inc.

A separate holding company would be organized to handle the
fund, he added.

The fund will have an initial capital of $650 million but will
eventually be increased to one billion dollars.

The venture capital fund, administrated by CDC which is
controlled by Taiwan's ruling Kuomintang party, was set up after
a delegation of Taiwan businessmen and government officials
visited countries affected by the regional financial crisis.