Sequoia China exceeds target

Sequoia Capital China has raised $349.5 million for its most recent vehicle, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchanges Commission. The amount exceeds the fund’s target size of $325 million, although it was unclear whether the filing represented a final close.

Sequoia did not respond to requests for comment. 

The firm’s fourth fund is dedicated to venture capital investments in China and will focus on renewables, consumer goods, media and telecoms. Its third fund, launched in 2010, is a $1 billion vehicle focused on technology.

In May, Sequoia China joined a number of private equity firms bidding for Chinese companies listed on US stock exchanges. The firm privatised NASDAQ-listed Le Gaga, a greenhouse vegetable producer in China, in a deal worth $183 million, a Le Gaga statement said earlier. It did not say which fund Sequoia invested from. 

Sequoia is not the only venture firm fundraising in Asia. OrbiMed Asia, a regional venture capital fund, launched a $300 million fund this week, according to a separate filing with the SEC. The firm's initial target was $500 million, according to Private Equity International’s Research & Analytics division.

Despite slow dealflow, VC firms are raising capital for Asia invesments

OrbiMed is a healthcare-specialised investment firm and currently has $6 billion in assets under management. This will be the firm’s second Asia Pacific vehicle and will focus on healthcare investments in the region, according to PEI's Research & Analytics division.

In Asia, venture investments in key markets fell steeply in 2012, following the general global decline in venture deals, according to a report by Ernst & Young.

The value of venture capital investments in China dropped more than 40 percent year-on-year in 2012, to $3.7 billion from $6.3 billion, having previously recorded two record years since 2010. The number of funding rounds in the country also declined 44 percent to 202 versus 362 during 2011. 

However, the E&Y report said it expects China to rebound over the course of 2013, in particular because of the strength of China’s consumer sector despite the slowdown in GDP growth.

During the first three months of 2013, China received $254 million of investment from venture capital firms over 47 deals, according to data from Thomson Reuters.