Baltic, Banks, Financial Services, Funds, Good for Business, Investments

CEO of JBIC Tadashi Maeda signed an agreement on Monday for equity participation in the JB Nordic Fund I SCSp, established in Luxembourg, JBIC said. The fund will launch with an aggregate amount of approximately 100 million euros. JBIC plans to invest up to 40 mln euros into the fund.

The fund is jointly established and managed as a venture capital fund by AS BaltCap, a fund manager in the Baltic States based in Estonia, and JBIC IG Partners, a joint venture between JBIC and Industrial Growth Platform, Inc. (IGPI). 

In addition to JBIC, OMRON Corporation, Panasonic Corporation and Honda Motor Co., Ltd. also commit to the fund, which utilizes a global network in Tallinn, Stockholm, Helsinki and Tokyo and plans to start operating in the first quarter of 2019.

JB Nordic Fund will focus on investments into ICT and deep tech sectors, including autonomous mobility, digital health, augmented, virtual and mixed reality, artificial intelligence, robotics and the Internet of Things (IoT), BaltCap said in a press release in December.

The fund is to make investments in eight countries -- Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Iceland (the Nordic countries) and Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania (the Baltic countries).

The Nordic and Baltic region has established itself as one of the world's leading start-up hubs owing in part to the existence of various advanced IT technology projects, including e-government, and reflecting support to venture companies via sovereign funds.

"The aim of the fund, where Japanese companies participate as strategic investors, is not only to invest in advanced IT companies in Nordic and Baltic countries but also to provide support for the Japanese companies by offering opportunities to form business alliances with advanced IT companies," JBIC said.

Japanese investors may also find opportunities to invest in leading IT companies as a result of the relationship, JBIC added.

"The equity participation by JBIC in the fund is expected to contribute to maintaining and strengthening the international competitiveness of Japanese companies," JBIC said in a press release.

The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (Kokusai Kyoryoku Ginko), JBIC, is a Japanese public financial institution and export credit agency wholly owned by the Japanese government, and its budget and operations are regulated by the JBIC law. The main purpose of the institution is to promote economic cooperation between Japan and overseas countries by providing resources to foreign investments and by fostering international commerce.