Dual currency China cleantech fund nears first milestone

A China cleantech private equity fund has announced it aims to have a first close by the end of the year. The London-listed private equity company Origo Partners says it has raised USD60 million towards the USD200 million target, which it had originally hoped to raise by the end of this year.

Launched in September last year in partnership with Ecofin, a UK asset management company with an interest in infrastructure and sustainable projects and investment, China Cleantech Partners (CCP) plans to invest in privately-held Chinese cleantech companies, with a specific focus on alternative energy, environmental remediation, water and energy storage and distribution.

The Origo's chief financial officer Niklas Ponnert reported that of the USD60 million committed by investors, half of it came from Chinese currency sources, including local governments in Henan and Qinghai.

In setting up the private equity vehicle, the two partners also created a sub-vehicle, the Origo Xinxiang Renewable Energy Fund, in conjunction with Municipal  Government, which has been given an injection of CNY125 (USD19.63) million by the local government's investment vehicle, the Xinxiang Investment Group.

The first close target is USD75 million with a final close of USD200 million now projected toward the end of next year. Before final close Ponnert said the company would begin investing.

While parts of China's wind and solar sectors have suffered over the past year, the government's planned investment of billion so dollars into cleantech leaves the fund with plenty of opportunities

According to Dow Jones USD78 million of venture capital was invested into energy efficiency companies, compared with USD26 million into solar-focused deals, and USD67 million into wind-based transactions, according to 2011 data from industry tracker VentureSource.