The Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises and Startups and the Fair Trade Commission will attend the regular meeting of the corporate venture capital (CVC) council under the Korea Venture Capital Association on the afternoon of the 19th to discuss the current status of domestic CVC system improvements and future policy directions.
At the meeting, the Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises and Startups and the Fair Trade Commission will share details regarding the CVC system improvements that have been promoted thus far. The Ministry plans to amend the enforcement decree of the Venture Investment Act to allow, on a limited basis, venture investment associations to sell equity in invested companies held by the associations to major contributors and affiliated companies to facilitate mergers and acquisitions.
In addition, the Ministry is monitoring the outcomes of the K-Global Venture Capital Summit attended by 51 foreign investment institutions, including global CVCs, which was held on the 10th, while continuously promoting global exchange and cooperation events to enhance collaboration between domestic and international CVCs.
The Fair Trade Commission will push for system improvements to further activate the CVC system for general holding companies introduced at the end of 2021. On the 11th, it established a foundation for actively investing in domestic startups expanding overseas by excluding 'foreign startups' from the regulation on overseas investment ratios under the Small and Medium Enterprises Start-up Support Act.
The Fair Trade Commission also plans to work towards the swift passage of a revision of the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act, which will raise limits on external contributions and overseas investment ratios for general holding company CVCs and allow for the establishment of CVCs in the shape of start-up planners. It also shared supplementary measures to regulate acts of indirect investment in prohibited target companies (such as companies funded by family owners and companies belonging to large corporate groups) through investments in other project funds.
The meeting is expected to feature various opinions related to CVC system improvements from key executives of CVCs, including POSCO Technology Investment, CJ Investment, Hyosung Ventures, Doosan Investment, and Signite Partners.