CONGQING, China, Oct. 30, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — The past three days have witnessed one opening ceremony and main forum, one closed-door meeting, five thematic forums, one project roadshow, exhibitions and demonstrations through the whole event, nearly a hundred VC industry leaders from China and other countries, delegates from 500 enterprises of different industries and sectors, an online audience of nearly 10 million professionals, 15 VC projects signed with a total contract value of up to RMB 67.555 million, and 118 enterprise projects with financing needs matched with investment institutions. On October 24, Chongqing International Venture Conference (CIVC) 2020 came to a successful close at Western (Chongqing) Science City.
The conference took the theme of “Intelligenceā¢ Innovationā¢ Entrepreneurship: Explore Western (Chongqing) Science City”. It was hosted by Western (Chongqing) Science City, co-organized by Chongqing Science and Technology Bureau, Chongqing Local Financial Supervision and Administration Bureau, and the People’s Government of Shapingba District, Chongqing, and implemented by IDG World Expo China.
Expertise and Attention from Global VC Institutions Drawn to West China
Opinions on international VC forms, the construction of the Chengdu–Chongqing economic circle, and investment opportunities in Chongqing were shared by delegates from international and domestic VC organizations and institutions, including Hugo Shong, founding chairman of IDG Capital; Haitao Jin, chief managing partner of Qianhai Fund of Funds; Jim Breyer, founder of Breyer Capital; Michael Yi, partner and co-CIO of Hillhouse Capital Group; Bing Xiao, president of Fortune Capital; Wenzhong Zhang, founder of Wumart Stores, chairman of Dmall, founding chairman of Taikang Group, and angel investor of Mashang Consumer Finance Co., Ltd.; Guangfu Cui, partner of IDG Capital; Hao Chen, president of Legend Capital; Ruigang Li, founding partner of CMC Capital Group; Zhengdong Ni, chairman and founder of Zero2IPO Group; James Shen, vice president of Qualcomm and managing director of Qualcomm Ventures; Wei Li, founding partner and chairman of Green Pine Capital Partners; Min Wang, Changjiang Scholar, distinguished professor, deputy director of the Academic Committee of Central Academy of Fine Arts, and founding partner of Huajin Huiyuan Management Fund.
At the conference, delegates from investment institutions such as IDG Capital, Qualcomm Ventures, and Hillhouse Capital Group noted that more than paying attention to Chongqing, they were working to introduce a number of enterprises to develop in the city. Moreover, they will facilitate the matchmaking between the leading companies that they have invested in and Chongqing, to extend the ecological development chain of the companies to Central-West China. They will further expand their investment presence in Chongqing and enlarge their investment scale to grasp the development opportunities of the Chengdu–Chongqing economic circle.
Mr. Ran Peleg, Consul General of Israel to Chengdu, made a detailed introduction to the innovative development and VC situation in his country. In his eye, Chongqing is an energetic city driven by innovation and the central city in the development of West China, which enjoys and will enjoy great development space and opportunities. He said, Israel will further deepen the cooperation with Chongqing, to develop mutual exchanges and cooperation in technology and enterprises based on the national and regional development characteristics of industries and sectors, jointly promoting great development and cooperation.
Identifying VC Trends and New Visions from Multiple Perspectives
As an old saying in Chinese goes, “One should never be unduly elated by victory or depressed by defeat.” CIVC set five thematic forums, namely, VC Forum, Enterprise Growth Empowered by PE/M&A, Capital + Chengdu-Chongqing New Economy, Fintech Innovation Investment & Post-investment Enterprises Growth, and “Cloud Forum”: Exploring Chongqing to Discover the Power of Innovation, where delegates from investment institutions discussed new VC trends.
At the VC Forum, Mr. James Shen, vice president of Qualcomm and managing director of Qualcomm Ventures, delivered a speech titled “Investment Strategy of Qualcomm Ecology”. He noted in the speech that in 5G application and empowerment, there are four aspects worth of attention, namely, terminal AI, XR and multimedia, autopilot and robots, IoT and IoV. The investment in terminal AI emphasizes vertical platforms, typical application, and key technology. In terms of XR and multimedia, Qualcomm favors scenario-based investment and pays attention to new business models. In autopilot and robots, attention should be placed on the application scenarios of remote sites; while in IoT and IoV, on the scenarios of companies’ private network. Western (Chongqing) Science City can provide some scenarios to facilitate such kind of entrepreneurship. Qualcomm’s VC fund in the 5G ecosystem is valued USD 200 million and the company is willing to exchange with startups in 5G and 5G-related industries for common development.
In his speech at the forum on Enterprise Growth Empowered by PE/M&A, Mr. Dave Chen, founder, CEO, and managing partner of Oceanpine Capital, noted that most clients of hard and core technology are in traditional industries, representing markets worth of over RMB 1 billion. To satisfy the needs of each of these markets, one must truly understand the industry and the sector. Hard and core technology start-ups must be connected to resources and technology of the industry. Despite outstanding products and technology, many young entrepreneurs fail to match with those giant clients and companies due to a lack of experience in the industry; as a result, they go on a hard road and are even harder to be successful. Therefore, it is important to understand industries and match resources.
At the forum on Fintech Innovation Investment & Post-investment Enterprises Growth, Mr. Ge Yang, founding partner of Sky Saga Capital, delivered a speech titled “Market Investment Opportunities and New Trends of Scientific and Technological Innovation”. In his view, “New Infrastructure”, the new term created by the state this year, refers the construction of fundamental environment for AI, intelligent manufacturing, biomedicine, and other industries to develop in the next 50 years, including the environment of finance, sector science and technology, R & D, industries, which is worth paying attention to.
At the “Cloud Forum”: Exploring Chongqing to Discover the Power of Innovation, Mr. Steve Hoffman, entrepreneur from Silicon Valley, U.S., angel investor, and founder of the Silicon Valley incubator Founders Space, delivered a speech in VCR. He said, when choosing an investment target, he will not focus on the technology. Mr. Hoffman will not recommend an entrepreneur to develop technology, as it requires years or even decades. What he cares is whether an entrepreneur is able to discover ā to discover some technology and put it into use, use it in new ways, to solve the business problems that really matter.
Jointly Promoting Industrial Development in Chongqing and Looking Forward
As the venue of this conference, Western (Chongqing) Science City introduced relevant financial policies in the Implementation Plan for the Financial Support for the Construction of Western (Chongqing) Science City at the opening ceremony. According to the policies, long-term funds such as those of wealth management subsidiaries of banks as sources of VC funds are encouraged; loans + forwards are supported; there will be innovative science and technology lending; and it is encouraged to carry out special examination for financial institutions. The required proportion of local investment of government-shared funds will be lower; pilots of fund share transfer in the regional equity trading market will be carried out; and pilots of tax concession for VC companies are in the pipeline. Rewards will be granted to institutions that obtain domestic financial licenses; subsidies will be granted to entering banks, insurers, and equity investment funds; risk compensation of up to 50% will be granted to equity investment institutions that fail in investment. For an enterprise, it will receive interest discount for loans in the early stage, subsidies at different milestones in the processing of going public, and rewards for the release of IPO and follow-up refinancing. With 64 policies and opinions in four aspects, Western (Chongqing) Science City has made the most sincere gesture, providing policy guarantees in guiding financial capital to boost industrial upgrades and development.
To accelerate the construction of the Chengdu–Chongqing economic circle, Chongqing has made early planning and layout. At CIVC 2020, a number of capital VC projects were signed. Chongqing Industry Guiding Fund, Chongqing Angel Investment Guiding Fund, Chongqing Yufu Holding Group, and Chongqing Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone signed 15 cooperation agreements with IDG Capital, Green Pine Capital Partners, Linghang Ventures, CMB International, and BOE Technology Group. The investment, with a total contract amount of up to RMB 67.555 billion, involves the fields of next-generation IT, intelligent manufacturing, advanced equipment, new energy, new materials, industrial Internet, AI, biomedicine, TMT, integrated circuit, power equipment.
At the Roadshow of Chongqing Innovation and Entrepreneurship Projects, 10 local high-quality innovation enterprises and projects from Chongqing in biomedicine, semiconductor, energy, and electronic technology were presented. Delegates from top investment institutions from home and abroad attended the session and offered comments as VC mentors. Several outstanding projects were recognized by the mentors and will have opportunities for deeper cooperation. The roadshow also attracted attention from managers of Chongqing Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone, Scientific AttachƩ at the Consulate General of Italy, and many industry elites, who attended the session as guests.
To build a bridge that connects enterprises and investment institutions, the conferences set up exhibition and demonstration zones. In those zones, delegates from 118 enterprises with financing needs provided visitors with demonstration of and introduction to relevant technology, products, and projects. On the site, delegates from investment institutions had in-depth understanding and inquiries of the projects. Many investment institutions had investment intentions for relevant projects and will deepen the engagement for any possible cooperation opportunities.
The conference drew intensive attention from VC institutions from all over the world to Western (Chongqing) Science City. It presented the current development trends in VC and the layout of industrial development. In the future, it is hoped that the investment institutions will turn their attention into investment practice and that VC institutions will move their investment layout westwards, to support Chongqing’s development together with Western (Chongqing) Science City.
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