In search for next tech winner, China equals Silicon Valley for attention from Singapore fund

After hitting pay dirt with investments in Alibaba Group Holding and Xiaomi, Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC Pte is giving China as much attention as it does Silicon Valley in the search for the next big thing in tech.

Valuations for some tech companies globally may be too high, and what differentiates a good investor from an average one is the ability to identify the game changers worth betting on, Chief Executive Officer Lim Chow Kiat said in an interview. GIC invested in Alibaba before its 2014 IPO -- the stock has since almost tripled -- and also backs smartphone maker Xiaomi, which plans to go public this year with a valuation of as much as $100 billion.

“It’s so impressive in China that we give it equal attention in terms of our team,” Jeremy Kranz, head of the technology investment group at GIC, said in the same interview on Tuesday. In recent years, GIC’s investment in growth-stage tech startups range from“on one extreme single-digit millions and on the other extreme, single-digit billions,” he said.

As the value of GIC’s technology assets grow, it is also seeking insight into disruptive innovations that may shape the future. The fund’s investments in technology, media and telecommunications rose to 20 percent of all equity investments last year from 3 percent in 2009, data from the London-based Sovereign Wealth Center show.

“In recent years, a lot of these new companies have changed the world,’’ Lim said. “Not all companies are able to do that.“

Kranz’s team -- located in Silicon Valley, China and India -- has holdings in over 50 companies across eight countries. While GIC doesn’t often invest directly in startups at an early stage, its “long history” of being limited partners in venture funds in Silicon Valley and Asia allows it to tap promising companies, Kranz said.