Swiss firm BTS-IA launches Indian operations

Our eFE Bureau

Mumbai, Oct 31: The Switzerland-based investment advisory firm, BTS Investment Advisors Ltd (BTS-IA) which has taken over the mandate to manage the Swiss Technology Venture Capital Fund (Private) Ltd (Swiss Tec VCF) has launched its Indian operations on Wednesday. The announcement was made by the Swiss Ambassador to India Dr Walter G Gyger at a media briefing. President & CEO of BTS Investment Advisors Ltd PD Shedde said that the current corpus of the fund is at $ 18 million and plans are afoot to double this to approximately $40 million.

The Swiss Tec VCF was established in 1997 by the State Secretariat of Economic Affairs of the Swiss Government. BTS IA has a separate dedicated team of venture capital professionals and is located in Mumbai. The focus of this fund will be on IT companies providing value added services such as CRM and Call Centers.Participation in larger companies may be considered in co-operation with a syndicate of other funds provided they meet the criteria. Chairman of BTS A Guggenbuhl said that the main target of BTS is to lead the transition of Swiss Tec from a public sector funded to a mainly private sector funded enterprise.