Dubai Techno Park (DTP), the Dubai Government’s centerpiece technology initiative, has agreed to base the first Asia Gulf Horizons Fund Technology Centre in the Dubai Techno Park.

DTP will also sponsor the launch of the Korea Technology Investment Corporation (KTIC) Jasper Asia Gulf Horizons Fund in Dubai.

The basing of the $300 million fund in the DTP will result in approximately 10 to 15 Asian and European technology companies establishing research, development and commercial operations in Dubai over the next two years, said an official spokesman.

These companies will be focused in the life sciences, information and telecommunications technology, environmental technology, energy, water and infrastructure, and industrial sectors and are considered essential to Dubai’s long-term technology development plan.

This will also be the largest private equity initiative to be launched in the GCC overall with the aim of driving technology development and commercialisation.

Jasper Capital Limited, a financial and fund services company with operations in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and throughout the Gulf region, is the architect behind the design and establishment of the fund.

The fund will be managed by KTIC, a veteran private equity management company with 22 years of experience based in Seoul, Korea, including over 100 initial public offerings of Asian technology companies.

“Dubai Techno Park believes the KTIC Jasper Asia Gulf Horizons Fund represents the most innovative private equity approach to regional technology expansion ever seen in the Gulf,” said DTP managing director Hamad Al Hashemi.

“The combination of Jasper Capital’s longstanding presence in the Gulf coupled with KTIC’s history of successfully growing hundreds of venture and late-stage technology companies will be vital for the Techno Park in achieving our objectives.”

The KTIC Jasper Asia Gulf Horizons fund is currently open for investment. – TradeArabia News Service