Clean tech investment fund to plough more than $700m into China

London-based clean tech investment fund Climate Change Capital has announced it is to invest $732m in environmental projects in China over the next two to three years as it attempts to tap into arguably the fastest growing clean tech market in the world.

The company said yesterday that it will look at a range of different investment opportunities, including industrial waste management and clean technology firms.

Ka Keung Chan, managing director and head of China investments at the fund, said that the current financial crisis offers a great opportunity for the company to boost its presence in the region because assets are cheaper and company owners are increasingly desperate for capital.

"There are a lot of cheap assets lying out there," he told Reuters. "If you see the right company, this is the best time to negotiate."

His comments echo those of Climate Change Capital founder James Cameron, who wrote last month that the global financial crisis should be seen as an opportunity to tackle climate change, rather than an obstacle.

"Out of necessity comes opportunity," he said. "We now have a chance to rethink our relationship with money, to realise that it matters how we create wealth as well as how much of it we create."

The announcement represents a ringing endorsement of the Chinese clean tech sector, which despite its growing influence as a major player in the renewable energy industry remains a relatively untouched market for clean tech venture capitalists. According to recent figures, venture capital invested just $111m in Chinese clean tech firms in the year to October 2008, compared with $1.7bn in the US.