PE investments fall 35% in January

NEW DELHI: Investment activity by venture capital and private equity funds witnessed a weak start in the new year, recording a 35% fall at $1.6 billion in January a report said.

The e-commerce sector contributed a bulk $689 million, the highest monthly figure in two years, which helped the overall deal volumes, the report by industry lobby India Venture Capital Association and consultant EY, said.

EY's partner Vivek Soni said January started on a "sombre" note, but the deal pipeline remains robust as investment teams at funds are busy working on proposals with due diligence and negotiations.

In our view, the global macro has thrust the India investment opportunity in a favourable position and most PE/VC investors are inclined towards investing increased amounts in larger deals, he said.

When compared with the preceding December 2020 month's USD 7.1 billion, the investments plummeted 77%, the data showed because there were fewer larger deals -transactions over USD 100 million.