Australian venture capital investment and private equity is achieving great heights along with the rest of the world. However, the re-contribution of funds from research and development to private investment wasn't considerable enough to be the reason for the explosion in this country, according to an industry expert.
According to PricewaterhouseCoopers Australia venture capital partner, Vivien McCarron, the IIF program contributed somewhat to the early stages of venture capital investment, however the funding was not significant.
"At the same time the government shut down the R&D funding, they introduced the IIF program. It would be fair to say that investment still wasn't much," McCarron said.
According to McCarron, the explosion in venture capital investment and private equity is a combination of a number of things.
"Technology is just sexy worldwide and Australia is no different in getting on the band wagon," McCarron said.
"It could also be fair to say that the press had a lot to do with the success of venture capital as well," she said.
In a report released by PricewaterhouseCoopers and 3i called Global Private Equity 2000 it was revealed that venture capital and private equity rose by 65 percent to a massive US$136 billion worldwide in the last 12 months.
According to experts, investment in the Asia-Pacific region will continue to grow steadily, with some countries - in particular Australia - moving ahead at a faster pace.
"Australian investment and fund raising are at record levels with the country playing an increasingly important role in the AsiaPac region," McCarron said in a statement.
According to the report, technology investments have benefited mostly from the global rise, representing 33 percent of total investment.
