VC activity set for stable growth in 2008

The venture capital activity in India is showing signs of a stable growth after making rapid strides over the past couple of years.

Early numbers being crunched out by VC research firm, Venture Intelligence, indicate that during the first quarter of 2008 there were 22 deals with investments of $165 million as against 28 deals with $173 million during the corresponding quarter of 2007, a dip of 4 per cent.

"These are early numbers, but the broad sense is that the activity is stable as compared to last year," said Arun Natarajan, CEO, Venture Intelligence. For the record, a total of $543 million was invested through the VC route during the entire 2007, a marginal growth from 2006.

The scenario of private equity is also static. Early data indicate that during the first quarter of the present year, there were around 96 deals with a total investment of close to $3 billion.

Alok Mittal, a partner with Canaan Partners, a venture capital firm said there is no slowdown as such in the VC activity. "The present volatility in the global and Indian markets haven't yet impacted the VC industry. If the spikes hold on further there might be some sort of an impact," Mittal detailed. According to industry players, there was a significant increase in VC activity over the few years "we are seeing stability during 2008".

During 2007, IT & ITeS cornered the major investment of about $377 million followed by Healthcare & Life Sciences and the Media & Entertainment industry, according to data from Venture Intelligence.