Firms located in the southern part of India remains a favorite of venture capital activity compared to the country's other regions, The Times of India reported. Bangalore ranks Number 1 in the south for venture capital deals, with Chennai ranking second.
Citing figures from research service Venture Intelligence, the report said that last year, companies that are headquartered in south India comprised 41% of all venture capital investments or 55% by value. Firms based in western India, meanwhile, only claimed a 29% share of venture capital investments, which is equal to 27% by value. Those in the northern part of the country made up 24% of the investments or 23% by value.
As far as cities were concerned, those who hold base in Bangalore and Mumbai obtained 49 investments each from venture capitalists last year. Those based in Delhi followed with 24 investments received while companies headquartered in Chennai were able to obtain 21 investments. Firms from Gurgaon got 15 deals while those from Hyderabad were able to get 8 deals, the report said.
According to Venture Intelligence, venture capital companies poured $805 million in 206 deals in India in the year ending December 2013. This represented an 18% drop from the previous year's figures which saw 252 deals valued at $898 million.
Venture Intelligence Chief Executive Officer was quoted in the report as saying, "There has been no change in the geographic distribution of investments. South continues to attract bulk of the investments, almost at the same rate at which it did in 2012. But, within south, the Telengana issue spooked investment opportunities in Hyderabad. But, the surprise gainer in 2013 was Pune."
The research showed that venture capital investors favored the IT and ITES industries which obtained $404 million in investments in 130 deals. This comprised 63% of investment activity last year. Following closely is the Healthcare & Life Sciences industry which got $181 million in 27 investments, the report said.
Join the Conversation