(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-02-22 17:03

BEIJING -- Almost one third of the venture capital (VC) investment in January, both domestic and foreign, went into outdoor media, according to ChinaVenture, a financial consulting company.

There were three such investment contracts involving 63 million US dollars, it said.

The investment, all of which funded outdoor advertising in areas such as residential and office buildings, rose from the fourth quarter last year when it stood at 43 million U.S. dollars over four contracts.

Venture capital, also known as risk capital, refers to investments in start-ups and small businesses.

Given the rapid development of China's outdoor digital media, there was still room to grow for outdoor advertising activities, such as posting billboards and television screens in buildings, airports, hospitals and hotels, said Liu Liang, a senior analyst with ChinaVenture and one of the authors of the firm's report.

The report showed that total VC investments reached 235 million U.S. dollars in January, up from 190 million U.S. dollars in December.

VC investors also favored information technology, medical care and franchise businesses, which accounted for 12 percent, 23 percent and 17 percent of the investments, respectively.