April 22, 2018
NIO Capital, the investment firm backed by Chinese electric-vehicle startup NIO, is close to completing the first round of its $500 million offshore fund that will put money in new automotive technologies, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter.
The company is discussing with sovereign-wealth funds, energy and insurance companies in Asia and Europe as potential investors for its first dollar fund, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the discussions are private. The first phase of the financing will be settled in a month or two, they said.
NIO Capital will also consider investing in the offshore units of some Chinese companies, the people said.
A company spokeswoman declined to comment on the fundraising.
China has vowed to build a world-leading manufacturing sector with its Made in China 2025 plan as the world’s second-largest economy moves upward in the value chain. Chinese investors have been pouring billions of dollars in developing or acquiring overseas technologies in the automobile sector as the electric, autonomous and shareable-vehicle concepts disrupt the industry. The investment plans, however, come at a time when U.S. regulators are setting up more barriers for Chinese companies in the country’s technology sector.
Shanghai-based NIO Capital has already invested in about 15 companies in car-sharing, autonomous driving, new automobile material sectors in China with a Renminbi fund targeted to raise 10 billion yuan ($1.6 billion) in total. Sequoia capital is among its partners.
Among them is an investment last November in Beijing-based Shouqi Limousine & Chauffeur, a state-owned ride-hailing company because of the growth of premium mobility service in China.