Of the 500 million euros that government fund Invest-NL has spent so far, only a relatively small part has gone directly to Dutch companies. That was originally the goal of the fund, which was established in 2020 under the Rutte III cabinet. Most of the money, 340 million euros, was invested in other investment funds. Most of these funds are not specifically aimed at the Netherlands, but invest in Europe or worldwide in young companies. Invest-NL has so far invested only 161 million euros directly in Dutch companies.
This is evident from an inventory of NRC† Since the beginning of this year alone, Invest-NL has invested 45 million euros in four internationally operating funds. Two of them are registered in Luxembourg, another in Belgium. Tens of millions also went to international funds in 2020 and 2021.
Invest-NL was established under the previous Rutte cabinet, with the aim of boosting Dutch innovations in the field of sustainability and the energy transition. The total investment budget amounts to 1.7 billion euros. According to the legal mandate, all investments made must be ‘for the benefit of the Dutch economy’.
Read the background story here: The Dutch millions from Invest-NL mainly go to foreign funds
Double amount
Invest-NL says it adheres to this. All funds that receive money must commit to investing double the amount in the Netherlands. The Ministry of Finance, the sole shareholder of Invest-NL, supports this approach, a spokesperson said. “No money is leaking out, but money is being added for Dutch companies.” Committed fund managers emphasize that this is a gentleman’s agreementnot a legally enforceable agreement.
Some MPs react critically to the choice to invest most of the money in other funds. “This is not what it was primarily intended for: carrying risky investments that the market found too risky,” says GroenLinks MP Tom van der Lee. He calls it a ‘flaw’ that the investments must also yield a positive return in addition to social impact. “That is how you demand financial success. Fund managers will then build in certainty.”
‘Raises questions’
“This raises questions,” says CDA MP Mustafa Amhaouch. “Is investing in other funds the right way to achieve the impact everyone had in mind? And do we know where exactly the money that is invested back in the Netherlands through international funds ends up? Will it land in the projects that are important for the Netherlands?”
Also read this piece from September 2020: Investing out of the crisis? Invest-NL’s public money is difficult to get loose
In addition, investors were queuing up at several funds in which Invest-NL recently invested. Critics say this expenditure violates the mission of only funding projects that would otherwise not get off the ground. In a response, Invest-NL calls it “difficult to connect hard criteria” to that requirement.
At the beginning of 2023, the House of Representatives will evaluate the experiences with Invest-NL. Former PvdA leader and former Minister of Finance Wouter Bos recently left as CEO of Invest-NL, to become chairman of the board of health insurer Menzis as of 1 May.
The millions of Invest-NL E?
A version of this article also appeared in the newspaper of April 30, 2022