Ireland’s National Pensions Reserve Fund (NPRF) has launched a $100m (€73m) technology growth fund backed by China Investment Corporation (CIC).

The China Ireland Technology Growth Capital Fund, backed by a $50m contribution from each sovereign investor, will consider investments in software and clean technology in both Ireland and China, the NPRF said in a statement.

“The fund’s strategy will be to make minority equity investments in fast-growing technology companies in Ireland that have a substantial presence or strategic interest in China, and in Chinese fast-growing technology companies that have a substantial presence or strategic interest in establishing a presence in Ireland as a gateway into the broader European market,” the statement added.

The fund will be co-managed by Beijing-based WestSummit Capital and Atlantic Bridge, headquartered in Dublin.

Both managers also maintain offices in Silicon Valley.

Irish finance minister Michael Noonan said he was “very pleased” to see the country’s reserve fund partnering with CIC and noted that recent state visits had shown there was opportunity for increased economic activity between the two countries.

“The cooperation between these two dynamic economies and creation of this fund exemplify that opportunity,” he said.

NPRF chairman Paul Carty, meanwhile, noted the potential stemming from China as one of the “largest and fastest growing” markets globally.

The NPRF’s $50m commitment to the fund joins earlier investments in the Innovation Fund Ireland, managed by Highland Europe.

The venture capital fund in March last year attracted $12.5m from the NPRF to invest in growth-stage technology companies.

It comes as the NPRF prepares to transfer its €6.8bn discretionary portfolio to the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, intended by the government to stimulate economic activity in Ireland through a reallocation of its assets towards domestic investment.

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