Belgiums BIO to invest $2.5 million in the Mekong Enterprise Fund

Mekong Capital, Ltd. has announced that the Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries (BIO") has made an initial investment of $2.5 million in the Mekong Enterprise Fund, Ltd., bringing the total size of the Fund to $18.5 million. In addition, BIO has approved a potential follow-on investment of up to $2.0 million at a later date.

HO CHI MINH CITY, VIET NAM (PRWEB) February 12, 2003 -- Mekong Capital, Ltd. has announced that the Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries (BIO") has made an initial investment of $2.5 million in the Mekong Enterprise Fund, Ltd., bringing the total size of the Fund to $18.5 million. In addition, BIO has approved a potential follow-on investment of up to $2.0 million at a later date.

The Mekong Enterprise Fund is the first private equity fund focusing primarily on making equity investments in private entrepreneurial businesses in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. The Fund aims to invest in private companies founded and managed by private entrepreneurs, with a focus on export industries and local service providers. The Fund aims to add significant value to the companies in which it invests by providing various kinds of post-investment assistance to the companies in which it invests.

We are very pleased to receive this new investment from BIO. We believe that significant added value will result from BIOs participation in the Fund, especially relating to programs that BIO is developing which will support the development of the private sector in the Mekong Region," said John Samy, Chairman of the Mekong Enterprise Fund.

BIO is a public/private partnership, which is 50% owned by the Belgian government and 50% owned the Belgian International Investment Corporation. In addition to investing directly into the Fund, BIO will also consider some opportunities to invest alongside the Fund in companies in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia and will be involved establishing programs which benefit private companies in these countries.

Rik Vyverman, Operations and Business Development Manager for BIO, said For BIO the investment in the Mekong Enterprise Fund is our first investment in this priority region. The investment strategy of the Fund is 100% in line with BIOs mission to support SME development and we were particularly attracted by the post-investment assistance provided by the Fund. We are confident that the Investment Manager, Mekong Capital, and the Investment Advisor, MPDF, will make the Fund a success and thus provide an important demonstration effect."

We very much welcome this vote of confidence by BIO, as well as the value that BIO will add as an investor in the Fund. We also look forward to cooperating with BIO on special initiatives which will be beneficial for the companies in which the Fund invests," said Chris Freund, Managing Director of Mekong Capital, the Investment Manager of the Mekong Enterprise Fund.

Investors in the Fund currently include the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Nordic Development Fund (NDF), the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs of Switzerland (SECO), the Finnish Fund for Industrial Cooperation Ltd. (Finnfund), the Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries (BIO) and other private investors.

The Investment Manager of the Fund is Mekong Capital Ltd. For more information on Mekong Capital, please visit the website www.mekongcapital.com.

The Advisor to the Fund is the Mekong Project Development Facility (MPDF). For more information on MPDF please visit the website www.mpdf.org.