Fosun International Ltd., a Chinese conglomerate, founded in 1992, recently, expressed an interest to invest in the early stage start ups in India. Fosun is engaged in financial, property, steel and healthcare business. The Chinese investment company is looking forward to the Indian startup ecosystem as it has immense potential to grow further, in the near future. Previously, Fosun was eyeing mid and late staged equity investments in India. However, from now onward, it will focus on those ventures that are in their initial stages. Not only that but the Chinese company is also building a team to look for various opportunities in India.
According to the Managing Director and Head of Fosun, Mr. Tej Kapoor, the company is in the process of closing three deals where the amount is expected to be in an enormous sub million range. In the beginning, Fonus had invested in various firms including Delhivery, MakeMyTrip, Kissht and Ixigo. Mr. Kapoor said Initially, our focus was Series B and other public equity deals… Now, we are going to go into an even earlier stage… These are going to be super angel or seed rounds. These are based on our specific knowledge of sectors that we have great experience of in the Chinese market.
The upcoming investments would be made through Fosun’s venture, Fosun RZ Capital. This venture paved its way in India 18 months ago with its main focus on early stage investments, Fosun, going forward, will focus a bit more toward the emerging start ups when compared to the mid and late stage ventures!
Mr.Kapoor added,
We are extremely pragmatic and value conscious and are not going to get into a bidding war. We are careful about the valuations that are offered, as well as the value add that we can bring to the table.
The Chinese company is in the process of boosting up its team in the country. The team is likely to consist of nine members who would look for emerging start ups in the Delhi NCR, Mumbai and Bengaluru in the coming months.