According to the Shanghai Daily, Venture capital firms have increased the pace of their investment in China's high-growth sectors, including the Internet, semiconductors and new applications for mobile phones and televisions, industry officials said in at a recent information technology forum held in Shanghai,

Among them, Sequoia Capital China, which poured cash into Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp and 3721.com, has established a US$180 million fund to invest in Chinese high-tech industries, announced Steven Ji, a Sequoia vice president, at the China Technology, Media, Telecom Industry Annual Summit 2005 in Shanghai.

Meanwhile, Granite Global Ventures, which invested in Alibaba.com Inc, said it has increased its global fund from US$400 to US$700 million, and half of that is earmarked for China, according to Jenny Lee, granite's Shanghai-based director.

HSBC Private Equity (Asia) Ltd has established a US$100 million technology fund in Asia, mainly to tap online games and chip design.

The success of Internet-based companies like Baidu and Alibaba has boosted the confidence of overseas investors, and many have flooded into China to seek opportunities, hoping to cash in through mergers and IPOs, said Sun Lilin, an analyst at the consulting firm Analysys International, the organizer of the summit.

Venture capital investment in China is expected to reach US$2 billion this year, compared with US$700 million last year, according to Zero2ipo, also a Beijing venture consulting and research firm.

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