Carving Patience | The 18th China Investment Annual Conference · Limited Partners Summit Held in Shanghai
"China Investment Annual Conference", as an annual grand event in the private equity industry, has been successfully held for 18 sessions, attracting widespread attention from practitioners in the national VC/PE field, and is a barometer of industry trends. From November 21 to 22, the 18th China Investment Annual Conference · Limited Partner Summit, hosted by CVInfo and ChinaVenture, was grandly held in Shanghai. With the theme of "Carving Patience", this summit aims to call on investors to not only have a keen market insight but also have the patience to accompany for the long term and the strategy and ability to "carve" meticulously, in order to find and create definite value in an uncertain market.
The conference brought together more than 100 decision-makers from LP institutions and partners from leading GP institutions, as well as over 600 representatives from mainstream domestic investment institutions and senior industry journalists and other professionals. Through various forms such as in-depth closed-door discussions, dinner exchanges, summit forums, and roundtable dialogues, the summit focused on the key links in the development of the equity investment industry, deeply explored the innovative potential of cooperation models, and was committed to stimulating the upward vitality of the industry and injecting new impetus into the sustained and healthy development of the equity investment industry.
Heavyweight guests attending this summit include: Chen Wenhui, former vice chairman of the National Council for Social Security Fund, Liu Jipeng, former dean of the Business School of China University of Political Science and Law, Shan Junbao, chairman of CICC Capital, Wei Ran, secretary of the Party Committee and chairman of Chengtong Fund, Zhang Rongqing, general manager of the National Green Development Fund, Lin Haojun, secretary of the Party Committee and chairman of Guangdong Technology Financial Group, Li Xi'an, managing director and head of Greater China of Advent International, Liu Suhua, deputy secretary of the Party Committee and general manager of Shenzhen Capital Group Co., Ltd., Li Wei, founding partner of Green Pine Capital Partners, Wang Chenning, member of the Investment Banking Committee and managing director of CSC Financial Co., Ltd., Zheng Hualing, founder, chairman and general manager of DY Investments, and other heavyweight guests.
Experts' Discussions, Exploring Adaptive Strategies
At the conference site, Yang Xiaolei, CEO of CVInfo, in his opening speech with the theme of "Riding the Waves without Fear or Joy", encouraged venture capital participants to forge ahead in changes while maintaining a peaceful state of mind; at the same time, he also advocated for the industry to eliminate the false and retain the true and to be open to a moderate bubble. Clear water has no fish. A moderate bubble represents asymmetric information and non-consensus views, which can stimulate innovation and wealth creation, thereby promoting the advancement of the industry.
Chen Wenhui, former vice chairman of the National Council for Social Security Fund, focused on equity investment funds, emphasizing the core role of patient capital in promoting the development of new-quality productive forces, especially in the field of scientific and technological innovation. He pointed out that the sustainability of finance is the basis of its value creation, and its position in national policies is increasingly rising. Chen Wenhui particularly emphasized the importance of "exit", that is, the exit mechanism of venture capital funds at the summit. He mentioned that even if there is sufficient capital, if the exit channels are not smooth, funds dare not invest easily, which directly affects the formation of patient capital and the sustainability of investment. He believes that solving the exit problem is the key to activating the venture capital market and attracting more patient capital, and it is also an important part of achieving a virtuous cycle of technology, industry, and finance.
Liu Jipeng, former dean of the Business School of China University of Political Science and Law, proposed at the conference that China's stock market has sufficient funds, but the market confidence is insufficient, which is related to the imperfect market mechanism. He believes that a bull market requires incremental funds, regulatory reforms, and support from the economic fundamentals. A stock market index above 3000 points is a sign of market safety, and only when it reaches 4000 to 4500 points can the policy effectiveness be demonstrated. The stock market is now a key engine for economic growth. Especially in an uncertain economy, investor confidence is particularly important. To build a stable stock market, it is necessary to prevent listed companies and institutions from harming the interests of investors, improve the system, achieve a fair and just market environment, and promote a "slow bull" market.
Shan Junbao, chairman of CICC Capital, in his keynote speech "New-Quality-Driven Development, Capital-Assisted Growth", emphasized the key role of private equity investment in cultivating new-quality productive forces and supporting scientific and technological innovation, especially in the era of RMB funds. Facing the challenges of the market environment, Shan Junbao shared the importance of confidence and patience, and proposed five strategies: First, pay attention to the starting point of the new technology revolution cycle; second, adopt a counter-cyclical thinking; third, adapt to the changes in the LP structure; fourth, look for investment opportunities with "wings"; fifth, strengthen post-investment empowerment and digital transformation. Finally, he encouraged everyone to welcome the new era of the private equity market in an era of change.
Lin Haojun, secretary of the Party Committee and chairman of Guangdong Technology Financial Group, in his keynote speech "How Can State-Owned Capital, Which Occupies a 'Dominant Position', Better Play a 'Dominant Role'?", emphasized the leading role of state-owned capital institutions in the venture capital industry, pointing out their key position in scientific and technological innovation resources, financial docking, and social integration. He also pointed out the problems of state-owned capital institutions in structure, operation, and capacity, and suggested optimizing the performance of state-owned capital institutions through top-level design, mechanism construction, implementation and effectiveness, structural layout, and institutional collaboration. Finally, Lin Haojun took Guangdong Technology Financial Group as an example to show how to promote state-owned capital institutions to become the leaders of market-oriented venture capital through innovative models and platform construction, and called for cooperation between state-owned and private institutions to jointly promote the prosperous development of the venture capital industry.
Zhang Rongqing, general manager of the National Green Development Fund Co., Ltd., focused on green and low-carbon investment, emphasizing the importance of patient capital for green transformation and low-carbon development, and believing that this is the key to achieving high-quality economic development. He mentioned that green development is not only the background color of high-quality development but also the basis for achieving the goals of carbon peak and carbon neutrality. Zhang Rongqing shared the investment layout direction in the field of green and low-carbon, including ecological environmental protection and the dual-carbon strategy, and introduced the leading and exemplary role of the National Green Development Fund in promoting the development of the green industry and implementing the green development strategy. Finally, he called on industry colleagues to jointly care about and support the cause of green development, looking forward to win-win cooperation.
Li Xi'an, managing director and head of Greater China of Advent International, in his speech "Cross-Cycle is the Unchanging Theme of the M&A Market", emphasized that the Chinese market, with its status as the world's second-largest GDP and a growth rate close to 5%, has become a favored place for long-term investors. Foreign capital funds are optimistic about China's long-term development potential and believe that long-term investment is the key to achieving sustainable growth and value creation of enterprises. At the same time, the active VC and growth investment in the past 5 - 10 years have led to an increase in the exit demand of the current funds. In the context of a mature capital market, the proportion of M&A in private equity transactions is increasing.
Wang Chenning, member of the Investment Banking Committee and managing director of CSC Financial Co., Ltd., in his keynote speech "New Actions in the M&A Era", stated that China's M&A market will usher in a new era, characterized by industrial integration, enhancing competitiveness and innovation capabilities, focusing on the main business, and cross-border M&A. He emphasized that this era will be different from the previous M&A boom, but a continuous process involving the industrial integration of central and state-owned enterprises, M&A between listed companies, growth curve M&A, and cross-border M&A. Wang Chenning suggested that investment banks and institutions adapt to this change and strengthen cooperation to seize the new opportunities in the M&A market.
Zheng Hualing, founder, chairman and general manager of DY Investments, outlined the practices and achievements of DY Investments in the field of restructuring and M&A, and pointed out that bankruptcy reorganization is a new form of attracting investment for local governments, similar to the Buyout model, with the core difference being the clearing of creditor's rights and debts under the judicial process. In terms of valuation and operational strategies, bankruptcy reorganization is consistent with the traditional Buyout.
Authoritative Release, Witnessing the Moment of Glory
At this China Investment Annual Conference · Limited Partner Summit, the "CVInfo 2024 Annual Limited Partner List" was heavily released, including several heavyweight awards such as the "Guiding Fund Sub-list", "Insurance Capital Sub-list", "Mother Fund Sub-list", etc. At the same time, the "CVInfo 2024 Best State-Owned Capital Investment Institution List" was also unveiled. Relying on the strong support of CVSource CVInfo data and in-depth research on more than a thousand active investment institutions in the private equity field, the "CVInfo List" is finally selected according to the overall score ranking through standardized processing of questionnaire data, detailing the dynamic changes in the Chinese private equity market in 2024.
At the same time, the "2024 Research Report on the Innovative Development of State-Owned Capital" released by the CVInfo Research Institute deeply explores how the state-owned capital investment platform conducts industrial restructuring and optimizes the industrial chain layout through equity investment methods, providing practical decision-making references for state-owned capital to participate in equity investment, and bringing authoritative, comprehensive and objective analysis to the industry. For the detailed content of the list and report, please visit the official website of "ChinaVenture" and the official WeChat public account.
In the afternoon agenda of the summit, several keynote speeches and roundtable dialogues were also arranged, focusing on key issues such as industrial investment, new-quality productive forces investment, and win-win cooperation between GPs and LPs. These sessions aim to deeply analyze industry trends from different perspectives, promote in-depth exchanges among partners, and jointly explore new cooperation potential and strategies. At this grand event, industry leaders gathered to share their profound insights and wisdom, and jointly explore the latest trends and cutting-edge insights in the investment field. Looking forward to the future, these fruitful ideological collisions and strategic dialogues will stimulate practical industry actions, providing a strong impetus for innovation and growth in the investment field.