22nd China Private Equity Annual Forum Successfully Concludes in Shenzhen, Themed 'Staying True to Our初心, Future Full of Promise'
From December 21 to 23, 2022, the 22nd China Private Equity Annual Forum was held in Shenzhen. The event was organized by Zero2IPO Ventures (01945.HK) and Pedaily, co-hosted by the Shenzhen Municipal Finance Bureau and the People’s Government of Nanshan District, Shenzhen, and co-organized by Shenzhen Guidance Fund Investment Co., Ltd.
This annual gala, closely watched by the venture capital and investment community, brought together over 100 renowned investors managing trillions in capital to Shenzhen to explore investment opportunities and chart new courses for the industry. Centered on the theme “Stay True to Our Original Mission, Embrace a Promising Future,” the three-day forum featured six thematic sessions focusing on currently prominent industry topics, industrial trends, and investment hotspots. Adopting a deeply integrated “online + offline” format, the event included 24 hours of continuous live streaming, attracting more than one million video views and delivering an online intellectual feast that exceeded expectations.
The event brought together a constellation of investment luminaries, creating a vibrant atmosphere for professional exchange. Distinguished attendees included Chen Wei, Chairman and Founding Partner of Oriental Fortune Capital; Guo Jian, CEO of China Merchants Capital; Kuang Ziping, Founding Managing Partner of Qiming Venture Partners; Ni Zewang, Chairman of Shenzhen Capital Group; Niu Kuiguang, Partner at IDG Capital; Shan Junbao, Chairman of CICC Capital Management Co., Ltd.; Shi Anping, Chief Partner and Chairman of Guozhong Capital; and Zhou Kui, Partner at Sequoia China. Through keynote presentations, panel discussions, and networking sessions, these experts joined industry professionals in assessing investment trends and exploring emerging opportunities.
On December 21, Ni Zhengdong, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Zero2IPO Group, delivered opening remarks as the host and released the “2022 China Private Equity Development Report.” The report reviewed the Chinese private equity market in the first three quarters from the perspectives of fundraising, investment, and exits, presenting the latest landscape of China’s venture capital industry. Ni Zhengdong stated, “Viewed against the long sweep of history, China’s private equity industry is currently at a critical turning point. RMB-denominated funds and USD-denominated funds are undergoing a shift in dominance, and capital markets are experiencing transition and change. At such a time, it is even more imperative for practitioners to reflect on how to adapt and evolve.”
Ni Zewang, Chairman of Shenzhen Capital Group, stated in his keynote speech: “We need to think more about how to navigate 2023, how to identify investment opportunities with certainty, strengthen our confidence, and make significant investments in China. Some sectors that have cooled down still possess long-term investment value, such as the consumer industry, the biopharmaceutical industry, and industrial internet.” He also proposed that technological innovation and an efficient market are the core elements for traversing economic cycles.
Behind every figure lies the contribution of each venture capital and private equity professional. The forum unveiled the highly anticipated “2022 China Equity Investment Annual Rankings,” comprehensively showcasing changes in the market landscape.
In recent years, China has firmly grasped the trends of the technological revolution and advanced scientific and technological self-reliance and self-improvement. As a crucial vehicle for forming innovation capital, equity investment has become a significant force in boosting technological innovation. He Zhiqiang, Senior Vice President of Lenovo Group and President and Managing Partner of Lenovo Capital and Incubation Group (LCIG), shared three key insights on investing in the industrialization of technology: analyzing the necessary conditions for technological industrialization, assessing the maturity factors of the industry chain, and evaluating the core process of technological industrialization. He further proposed that technological innovation will become the primary driver of China’s economic growth over the next thirty years. Niu Kuiguang, Partner at IDG Capital, believes that as investors, it is imperative to support innovative enterprises focused on localization and addressing supply chain weaknesses, thereby ensuring the fundamental security of the supply chain.
China is actively promoting the transformation and upgrading of its domestic manufacturing sector, pursuing “new growth” driven by “new manufacturing,” which has also emerged as a new investment opportunity. Li Liang, Founding Partner of Hillhouse Capital, stated in his keynote speech: “The capital that the manufacturing sector requires must be capital endowed with inherent value-creation capabilities—including insights into industry dynamics, particularly long-term trends, as well as the alignment and matching of resources within and even across industries.” Zheng Zanbiao, Partner at Xiaocun Capital, remarked, “Compared with business-model innovations and consumer-oriented projects, incubating advanced manufacturing enterprises yields a higher success rate.”
When discussing expectations for the future, Ma Dongjun, Managing Partner at Haisong Capital, believes that 2023 will present new window-of-opportunity moments for both investment and entrepreneurship. “In the medium to long term, we remain optimistic and firmly bullish on the hard-tech sector.” Li Feng, Founding Partner of FreeS Fund, stated, “Over the next five years, we will respond to all changes with constancy, returning to the fundamental purpose of investment—creating value.”
Through insights shared by multiple guests on hot industries such as innovative technology, advanced manufacturing, and healthcare, it is deeply felt that equity investment has become an important force supporting industrial development. In addition, the forum set up an LP & GP matchmaking session to promote precise docking and full communication between fundraising and investing parties.
Held in Shenzhen, this forum drew industry attention to the city’s development path for venture capital and private equity. At the event, the “Shenzhen ‘20+8’ Industrial Cluster Fund Master Plan” was officially released, and the public selection process for the first batch of fund management institutions was formally launched. The Shenzhen Municipal Finance Bureau signed strategic cooperation agreements with Taiping Capital, China Merchants Capital, and Sinopharm Investment. Also officially unveiled at the forum were the “Nanshan District Special Support Measures for Promoting the Development of the Venture Capital and Private Equity Industry,” designed to foster the clustering of VC/PE firms. The rollout of these favorable policies is expected to attract more social capital to Shenzhen.
Shenzhen Finance Bureau, Nanshan District People’s Government, and Zero2IPO Group signed an on-site agreement, marking the official establishment of Zero2IPO’s Southern China headquarters in Nanshan, Shenzhen. This move signifies that Zero2IPO will fully leverage its strengths as a professional institution to build a comprehensive venture capital ecosystem in Shenzhen, supporting the city’s development into an international venture capital hub and a global center for innovation capital. Additionally, Zero2IPO and Shenzhen jointly launched the “Greater Bay Area Venture Capital Development Index,” which focuses on regional economic development in Shenzhen. By integrating various aspects of the private equity and venture capital industry in the Greater Bay Area and combining regional economic performance with data analytics, the index establishes a systematic framework to comprehensively analyze key factors in fundraising, investment, and exit activities, providing practical reference for the industry.
A new era has quietly dawned. The China Equity Investment Annual Forum will continue to spare no effort in promoting the pivotal role of the equity investment industry in fostering a high-level virtuous cycle among technology, industry, and the real economy, working hand in hand with venture capital peers to chart a new vision for development.