Venture Capital Policies in Canada

Günseli Baygan

No 2003/4, OECD Science, Technology and Industry Working Papers from OECD Publishing

Abstract: Canada has one of the highest levels of venture capital investment as a share of GDP among OECD countries. Between 1995 and 2001, Canada realised phenomenal growth in venture capital supply and the creation of over 200 new venture capital funds. However, the largest share of Canadian venture capital goes to follow-on funding of smaller firms -- rather than to new deals involving start-ups -- and to traditional manufacturing sectors. In the late 1990s, the Canadian government began attempts to diversify the sources of venture funds through liberalising rules for institutional and foreign investors, modifying tax incentives and introducing government equity funds. Foreign investors, particularly from the United States, are now the major players and are targeting their funding to technology-based start-ups. This paper analyses trends in Canadian venture capital markets and makes policy recommendations which have been developed through an OECD peer review process ...

Politiques de capital-risque au Canada Exprimés en pourcentage du PIB, les niveaux d’investissement en capital-risque du Canada sont parmi les plus élevés des pays Membres de l’OCDE. Entre 1995 et 2001, la croissance de l’offre de capital-risque y a été phénoménale et plus de 200 fonds nouveaux de capital-risque se sont créés. Toutefois, l’essentiel du capital-risque canadien est consacré à la poursuite du financement de petites et moyennes entreprises (PME) – et non de nouveaux dossiers impliquant de jeunes entreprises – et aux secteurs manufacturiers traditionnels. À la fin des années 1990, les pouvoirs publics canadiens se sont lancés dans des tentatives de diversification des sources de capital-risque en libéralisant la réglementation applicable aux investisseurs institutionnels et étrangers, en modifiant les avantages fiscaux et en créant des fonds publics de participation au capital. Les investisseurs étrangers – américains notamment – sont maintenant les principaux acteurs du secteur ; leurs financements ciblent ...

Date: 2003-01-28
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