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Komfie Manalo, Opalesque Asia:

Australian venture capital fund, Sapien Ventures on Thursday launched a $50 million fund to take advantage of new capital inflows from the Significant Investor Visa (SIV) program to help grow Australian early-stage technology companies.

Changes to the SIV program took effect on July 1 this year. The new rules mandate that $500,000 from each new visa (which are worth $5 million) be invested directly into early-stage venture capital funds.

Founding partner Victor Jiang said the Australian fund industry was vastly unprepared to soak up these flows. "To put it in real terms, the Australian venture capital industry raised $266 million in FY14 . With thousands of SIV applications already in the pipeline, these new rules could see hundreds of millions more being poured into Australian venture capital funds in the immediate future. There currently isn’t enough infrastructure to take on this money that’s been mandated by policy. Growth is needed."

Basis Point Consulting estimated that at least 400-800 SIVs could be granted each year, seeing $200-400 million per year flowing into Australian venture capital. Jiang said this represented a fulcrum moment for the Australian economy.

"Startup economies are vibrant, job-creating and wealth-creating," Jiang said. "Silicon Valley is the best-known example, but places like Israel and London have also created thriving startup hubs to foster ......................

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