Citibank outlines funding plans in info-tech sector

Citibank Private Equity Fund

plans to invest around $50 mil-

lion in info-tech companies during the next one year. It has already invested

around $50 million in 26 info-tech companies so far. Typically each of the

investment has been in the $1-5 million range with the maximum investment going

up to 40 percent. The corpus of the fund, which stands at around $100 million,

would be increased as soon as it is exhausted.

According to Ajay Relan, India Head, Citibank Private Equity,

among the companies in which the fund has invested, Rediff, DCM Tech, Dishnet

and NewGen are expected to go public soon. Significantly over the past seven

months, the fund has invested in several dot coms. Among them are Rediff,

Travelmart, Icleo, MindZones and now, on the anvil, a venture with the Times Of

India Group–Timesofmoney.com.

The financial portal to be launched by July will be an

aggregator of all kinds of financial services with the possibility of financial

transactions. The Citibank Group would invest around Rs 30 crore of which Rs 10

crore would be invested by the IT wing of the Citibank Group, Citil.

Explaining the criterion for selecting a dot-com company for funding, Relan

said that it looks for the following parameters in a company–a dedicated and

effective management in implementing ideas, prompt execution of ideas, ability

to organize an enthusiastic team and keep them motivated. The larger the

audience the wider the appeal of the venture. The idea should be conducive to

being sold on the Net and should have global appeal. Lastly the ideal dot-com

idea should be able to combine the subscription model with e-commerce and

corporate sponsorship.