Transcend is Selected by the Government as a Co-Investment Partner
to the Innovation and Technology Venture Fund

Transcend’s recently launched second fund, Transcend Capital Partners II L.P. (TCP II), is among five newly selected venture capital (VC) funds appointed by the Innovation and Technology Commission (ITC) to become co-investment partners of the Innovation and Technology Venture Fund (ITVF). The ITVF is a HK$2 billion fund established by the Hong Kong SAR Government in 2017 with a view to attracting more private capital to invest in local innovation and technology (I&T) start-ups and creating a more vibrant innovation and technology ecosystem in Hong Kong. With this appointment, TCP II becomes one of the 16 co-investment partners in the scheme. The ITC assesses VC funds based on an assessment criteria that includes the VC fund’s capability, its investment strategy and performance, its management team’s expertise and experience, and its local network and resources, as well as on the advice of the ITVF Advisory Committee.

 

As one of Hong Kong’s fast-growing VC funds investing in series B and earlier startups with a strategic commitment to empower diverse leadership teams in Hong Kong and across Asia, Transcend shares a common intention to support increased dynamism in the city’s startup landscape. In an extension of this philosophy, TCP II launched this March with the addition of an ESG screening criteria and due diligence questionnaire to Transcend’s standard investment process. The ESG additions aspire to achieve two purposes for the new fund: 1) to formalize the exclusion of bad apples and inclusion of companies that contribute positively to social, economic and environmental outcomes, and 2) to serve as the beginning of an ongoing dialogue with portfolio companies about scaling up with responsible and sustainable practices.

 

The ITVF may co-invest along with TCP II at a matching ratio of approximately 1 (Government) : 2 (CP) in eligible local I&T startups. In addition, the terms of the partnership grant TCP II two options to purchase all of the ITVF's co-investments made alongside TCP II at cost plus accrued interest within an active investment period of five years. 

 

This arrangement establishes for Transcend a long-term collaboration with ITVF that will expand Transcend’s funding scope and capacity, and imparts Transcend with the resources to take on a leading role in supporting the city's I&T ventures moving forward. For more details, please visit the ITVF website and their press release.