Walden Intl to focus on education, healtcare sectors in India

Mumbai, July 15 (UNI) The USD 1.9 billion international venture capital firm Walden International (WI) today announced its plans to invest in the USD 40 billion domestic education industry and healthcare industry that is expected to double by 2012, in India.

''With the government spending only one per cent of GDP (which is expected to be pushed to six per cent) in education, there is tremendous opportunity in the sector, from content delivery, library management, database creation to web portal management,'' WI managing director Rajesh Subramaniam said here today.

The USD 34 billion healthcare sector, which accounts for 3.4 per cent of the country's GDP, offers similar investment grounds in claims management and electronic record generation, Mr Subramaniam said.

Other focus areas for WI would include traditional sectors like IT, BPO, banking and financial services, telecom and media. The global investor has already invested USD 1.6 across Asia and US in over 400 companies. The Company has also invested in Indian firms like MindTree, Sierra and Antara.

WI will focus in building new companies and industries with strong partnerships with emphasis on the amount and quality of funds invested rather than the number of investments made in companies, he said.

''We plan to increase our investments in the country. The fundamentals are solid and with an increase in the real disposable income of the middle class, we will see a phenomenal growth,'' Mr Subramanium added.

UNI ZC RN AG1527