Money wants to get back to circulation
15.04.2009, 08:58 Ambient Sound Investments (ASI), a company
which was established by the founders of Skype, is investing more money to new
companies abroad and hasn’t invested to a single new Estonian project in past
year, Äripäev reports.
“The numbers speak their language,” Toivo Annus, holder in ASI said. For
instance, Estonian Development Fund has invested nearly EEK 30 mln to Estonian
companies, although ASI’s assets exceed Development Fund’s tens of times.
“Actually Development Fund is hotshot in the Estonian market. Yes, you might
say that the volumes are small compared to Sweden or Singapore, but they’ve
invested a lot, compared to us. We haven’t invested to a single new Estonian
company in past 12 months,” Annus said.
ASI gets couple of applications from Estonia each week. Altogether the
company gets 5-10 applications, ¾ come from foreign countries.
“The risk isn’t greater than in the good times,” Margus Uudam, the investment
manager of ASI said.
He said that even if a project has scientific potential, also the management
must have right business perspective.
“We don’t have long experience of entrepreneurship. Parents suggested their
children to be lawyers, doctors or go to work to the bank. There are few those
parents who told their children to become entrepreneurs and take risks,” Uudam
said.
ASI’s investment focus is starting technology companies. Besides 30
technology companies in their portfolio there is also failed real estate
company, which has got bankruptcy warning from ASI. In the middle of March
trustees in bankruptcy put Tark Kodu’s 82 unsold apartments on sale with EEK 124
mln. Tark Kodu has EEK 117.3 mln and EEK 35 mln for Hansapank (Swedbank) and
ASI.
ASI has assets slightly less than EEK 1.5 mln, which makes it likely the only
company which has so much free money. The owners aren’t interested in putting
the money to grow fast.
“ASI is owned by four private persons. That means we have so much assets that
it’s enough for generations,” Annus said.
They don’t have a pressure to take too big risks. They also don’t have
quantitative goals, such as growing assets.
“Actually we live on just the same,” Annus said.