Specialist John Conklin, centre, conducts trading in shares of Southwest Airlines on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday September 17, 2001. Airline stocks traded lower after all the major US carriers, expecting a drop in business,...

BEIJING (AP):

Intel Corp's venture capital arm said on Tuesday that it has set up a new US$500 million (euro 320 million) fund to invest in Chinese technology start-ups.

The new fund, Intel Capital China Technology II, will invest in Chinese companies involved in wireless broadband, tech-nology, media, telecommunications and environmentally-friendly technologies, Intel said in a statement.

The new fund has already invested in Holdfast Online Technology Co, which helps host console games on networks, and Newauto Video Technology Inc, which sells television equipment to Chinese TV stations.

Investments

Intel Capital has expanded the amount it invests outside the US in recent years. In 2007, it devoted 63 per cent of its total investments to North America and nearly 30 per cent to Asia.

Intel Capital President Arvind Sodhani said the company's second China fund plans to invest its US$500 million over five to seven years.

The company was set up in June 2005, with its first fund targeting China - the US$200 million Intel Capital China Technology Fund. That fund was meant to spend its allotment over the same period as the new fund - but ended up spending all its capital in less than three years.

Growth enterprise share market

Intel Capital also said it will consider having Chinese companies in which it has invested list on a growth enterprise share market due to be set up in China.

"We are absolutely supportive of this new market," said Sodhani.

The government has not yet given a timeline for setting up the growth enterprise market, a secondary board that will target high-technology companies.