Votorantim and Temasek launch $700 million fund to invest in Brazil

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazil's Votorantim group and Singapore's Temasek Holdings teamed up to launch a $700 million fund to invest in Brazilian companies, they said in a joint statement on Tuesday.

The investment fund, called 23S Capital, will target long-term investments in high-growth sectors of the Brazilian economy, the companies said.

"Our investment mandate will focus on high-potential trends in Brazil and globally, with an emphasis on new business models and technology across various sectors of the Brazilian economy," said 23S Capital's chief executive Matheus Villares.

"This strategy will position 23S Capital as a long-term partner to companies and entrepreneurs," Villares said.

The move comes at a time when startups have been seeing sources of capital dry up amid higher interest rates and uncertainties around global economic growth.

Late last year, though, Japan's SoftBank Group Corp renewed its bet on Latin America by launching a $3 billion fund to invest in technology companies after pouring $3.5 billion into the region in the last few years.

(Reporting by Peter Frontini, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)