Chinese companies’ appetite investing in Israeli technology companies grows
Shenzhen-based Kuang-Chi Group is one firm investing in the Middle Eastern country.
Chinese companies’ appetite for foreign technology companies continues to grow, as evidenced by Shenzhen-based Kuang-Chi Group.
It launched its start-up incubator in Israel with US$50 million to invest in Israeli and other international early-stage companies.
It plans to raise that to US$300 million in three years.
“Israel is a supermarket for innovation,” said Liu Ruopeng, founder and chairman of the group in a statement. He plans to focus investment on companies working in the field of biometrics, communications or robotics.
China became the largest acquisitional country in the world for technology mergers and deals in the first two months this year, accounting for nearly half the total US$70 billion volume, according to research company Dealogic.
Experts said Israel is becoming increasingly important as a destination for Chinese companies looking to buy technology firms.
“Israeli companies are typically better at developing advanced and specified technologies than commercialising them, but this is what the Chinese are good at,” said Ruth Zhang, president of Israeli-Sino Innovation Investment Consultant, a company that advices Chinese entrepreneurs on investment in Israel.
