Economic reforms could attract €3.2bn in venture capital to Spain

The Spanish Association of Venture Capital (ASCRI is the Spanish acronym) presented the results of the sector in 2011, when the investment of these firms in Spain reached €3.249 billion, 7% less than in 2010, but more than twice the amount invested in 2009.

Venture capital  has 3,200 million euros to spend on new business investments in Spain, said on Tuesday Maite Ballester, president of ASCRI. Ballester believes that

“the new economic reforms could attract new investors to the Iberian Peninsula.”

The ASCRI data indicate that international funds accounted for 60% of investment for 2011. The five largest operations that were closed accounted for 47% of the total.

“There has been a sort of allergy to investing in Europe and in Spain,” said Ballester who confirm investors are concerned due to the crisis.

Ballester argued in favor of promoting venture capital investment on the part of insurers and pension funds just like in other countries of the European Union, a position that ASCRI intends to propose to the new government after meeting with insurers and pension fund representatives, whose investment in venture capital only represents 0.1%. Institutional investment is a source of raising money for these funds that are specialised in investing in businesses.