Category: Investment
Galaxy Holdings, Puji Capital announces joint venture platform to back foreign businesses in Shenzhen
Asia-based investment group Puji Capital and China-based property developer Galaxy Holdings has recently announced a joint venture agreement to create a new economic and business region in Shenzhen.
With this partnership, the two companies will be providing direct investments and act as a business incubator for foreign startups to expand in China and other high-growth markets in Asia.
This new joint venture platform is also projected to spark innovation and bridge cross-border business cooperation between China and Western countries through investment and business support.
Commenting on the deal, the CEO of Galaxy Holdings, Yao Huiqiong said, “This new platform will create new jobs and economic benefits for the city and truly define Shenzhen as the new innovation capital for China and Western business.”
“As a Special Economic Zone that is only 30 minutes’ drive from Hong Kong, Shenzhen has the most developed infrastructure and business environment in the country to help companies reach full potential,” Yao added.
Additionally, the joint venture will also target and invest in more than 10 small to medium-sized Western growth companies in each of the three core industry sectors – mobile gaming, media technology, and consumer hardware
The two companies also aim to develop separate joint ventures to enter and expand into China market, capitalise each on the rapidly growing Chinese consumer market, and establish strategic positions along the respective industry ecosystems.
“Shenzhen is already known as the epicenter of China’s booming internet, mobile, hardware, and new technology industries. With a population of 22 million, a leading growth rate among all the Tier 1 cities and the highest ratio of young professionals from 20 to 30 nationwide, Shenzhen is undoubtedly the most vibrant business city in China and positioned to be the Silicon Valley of the East,” Yao said.
Based in Shenzhen, the new innovation and business hub has already developed programmes with a preferred network of strategic partners across China for co-investments, commercial cooperation, distribution, and point of sale opportunities for Western companies the platform invests into.
“We are uniquely positioned in the market as we have participated in various cross-border investments and provided related advisory between China and the West for over 15 years,” said Alex Szeto, the Investment Director at Puji Capital.
“We have seen nearly every iteration of pitfalls and pain points for Western companies entering China,” he further explains. “So, now when we make direct investments into the US and Western companies coming to China, we can also provide a tailored and turnkey solution and strategy for success. Galaxy (Holdings) is a cornerstone brand name throughout China and we are beyond thrilled with this new venture with them.”
Founded in 1988, Galaxy Holdings is a China leading conglomerate which primarily focuses on businesses in four key areas — Real Estate, Industrial, Property Management, and Finance.
At present, the firm has a total asset scale over US$15 billion, with its real estate business expands throughout 13 cities across Pearl River Delta, Yangtze River Delta, Circum-Bohai-Sea Region, and more.
By Vivian Foo, Unicorn Media
GIC, Tencent, Navlnfo to acquire a 10 per cent stake in open location platform HERE
Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC, together with China’s leading provider of digital maps and location services, NavInfo as well as internet value-added services, Tencent Holdings will jointly acquire a 10 per cent stake in HERE, an open location platform company.
Commenting on the acquisition, GIC private equity chief investment officer Choo Yong Cheen said, “As a long-term value investor, we are confident HERE is well-positioned to extend its success in automotive space to areas of Internet of Things, smart cities, and fleet management.”
“We believe this strategic collaboration with NavInfo and Tencent will generate good momentum for its global expansion and its development of HAD (Highly automated driving) Map,” he added.
However, aside from stake acquisition, the deal also sees HERE, Navlnfo, and Tencent Holdings Limited forming part of a deadlock (50:50) corporate joint venture to develop and offer best-in-class location services for the Chinese market, according to the company’s announcement on Tuesday.
“Our intention has been to broaden our shareholder base to reflect how location intelligence will fuel invention and expansion across different industries in all parts of the world.” HERE Chief Executive, Edzard Overbeek said. “We are therefore excited to welcome NavInfo and Tencent both as strategic investors who share our vision of the future. We also welcome GIC as a financial investor who values the long-term prospects of the company.”
Based on their cooperation, HERE, a provider of maps and location services in about 200 countries, will also extend its services to China utilising Navlnfo data and services. enabling location services for both Chinese and international customers across a range of industries.
“The automotive industry is on the eve of revolution to autonomous driving and alternative energy. We are excited about joining forces and uniting market leaders to deliver outstanding value and take our industry to the next level. NavInfo and Here have a more than ten-year cooperation history, and are now both in transformation phase to extend our heritage in traditional navigation to intelligent location services and autonomous driving and artificial intelligence for a global customer base.” NavInfo CEO Patrick Cheng said.
On the other hand, Tencent will also be implementing the mapping and location platform services and tools from HERE in its own products and services both in China and internationally, as well as working with HERE to improve both companies’ products to deliver better experiences to their customers and exploring new product and technology development opportunities.
Tencent Vice President of Mobile Internet Group Julian Ma said: “The strategic partnership with HERE demonstrates our commitment to connect our users with best-in-class services. Combining HERE’s world-leading location intelligence technologies with Tencent’s social strength, unique understanding of user behavior and broad location data ecosystem, this collaboration further enhances Tencent’s location services. It also facilitates Tencent’s exploration of future technologies including autonomous driving and artificial intelligence.”
Besides, as part of the plan, the JV will also see the deployment and localisation of the former’s Auto SDK, a flexible and modular software development toolkit for embedded in-car experiences for the Chinese market, in addition to a collaboration on creating and provisioning of high definition mapping and location services.
This planned transaction will also result in the further broadening of the company’s shareholder structure as existing investors in HERE, which includes global auto giants such as Audi AG, BMW AG, and Daimler AG will reduce their holdings correspondingly by an equal measure.
The transaction, which is subjected to regulatory approvals is expected to be completed in the first half of 2017.
By Vivian Foo, Unicorn Media
SonKim Land secures US$100 million funding from Japanese investors
Vietnamese real estate developer SonKim Land has recently made an announcement that it has completed mobilising foreign capital for the year after raising US$100 million funding from Japanese investors.
As per details of the agreement, the capital disbursement is divided into two phases, with the property firm having received the first tranche of US$46 million on 21 December while the Vietnamese real estate firm is slated to secure the remaining US$54 million by the first quarter of 2017.
This capital commitment not only has positive implications for the business but it has also reaffirmed Vietnam as a favorite market for Japanese investors, according to Nguyen Hoang Tuan, the chairman of SonKim Land.
The investment is facilitated by Lemon Grass Master Fund, a Cayman Island-incorporated investment vehicle, which is also affiliated with SonKim Land having invested US$37 million in the Vietnamese property firm three years ago.
Founded in 1993, SonKim Land is an active developer which project ranges in the high-end property segment, including assets such as housing, hotels, and office buildings, as well as the retail sector.
Recently, Son Kim Land has introduced a 17-floor project named Serenity Sky Villas at 259 Dien Bien Phu Street in HCMC’s District 3 which is expected to be completed by the end of Q3 in 2018.
In 2015, the firm sealed a joint venture with Hong Kong’s investment group Hamon to develop the over US$100 million Gateway Thao Dien residential complex in Ho Chi Minh City, before partnering with HongKong Land in Nassim senior housing projects in the same year.
Both projects are slated for opening in 2017.
By Vivian Foo, Unicorn Media
Global accelerator Startupbootcamp launches digital health accelerator in Chengdu, China
Startupbootcamp, which operates a global network of industry-focused accelerator programmes, has launched their first China-based programme, a digital health accelerator in Chengdu, the capital of China’s Sichuan province.
This programme marks a joint partnership between Startupbootcamp and Thinkzon, a Chinese incubator accommodating over 500 enterprises in mobile internet, software R&D, and digital media.
Through this programme, Startupbootcamp is focused on scaling the country’s digital health ecosystem given the significant digital opportunities that exist in China by virtue of the size of its market.
Chengdu was selected due to its support for entrepreneurial initiatives from the city’s local government and healthcare industry. The region is also known for having some of the best hospitals and medical research institution in China.
“The opportunities for digital health in China are vast, not only in the Sichuan region but within the entire China,” said Carsten Kølbek, the co-founder of Startupbootcamp. “The big demand for better health services by the fast growing middle-class and the liberation of the private insurance market requires new and scalable solutions fast.”
The Chengdu programme will be the first of ten China-based accelerators as it plans to roll out in the next three years. The Chengdu Startupbootcamp is now accepting applications until 20th March 2017.
Application is open to startups from within China as well as neighbouring countries. The accelerator will focus on ventures operating in areas such as digital medical devices, diagnostics, genomics, wearable devices, and remote health monitoring.
After Chengdu, the next Startupbootcamp China programme will be in Shanghai.
Ten startups will be selected for the incubator programme which will commence in May 2017 and run for three months.
During the 3-month program period, the selected companies will be supported through every stage of their business growth – from market fit and product development to sales – through tailored and hands-on sessions.
The ten startups selected for the Chengdu program will receive RMB 100K (about US$14,400) in seed funding, free office space, mentorship from more than a hundred industry specialists, and access to Startupbootcamp’s large international network in more than 30 countries.
Besides, the ten companies will also have the opportunity to work with Thinkzone and Strartupbootcamp’s healthcare partners in Chengdu for testing and product development. One example being a clinic with a patient base of 15 million patients.
Startupbootcamp’s overall China expansion will be led by Steven Tong, who has been the Managing Director for Startupbootcamp’s Singapore program since 2015. Tong will be joined by Christina Pamela Christiansen who’ll lead the Digital Health program as the Program Director and Feng Jingyue as COO.
“We are interested in startups that have shown traction or startups that have launched a serious prototype. In our digital health programs in Berlin and Miami, we have received 300-500 applications for each program. We expect the number to be even higher in China, so the competition is going to be fierce,” Christiansen said.
Speaking on the development, Chao Wang, Director of Thinkzone’s partnership with Startupbootcamp, also said, “Startupbootcamp’s proven model for igniting entrepreneurial ecosystems will help attract world-class talent to Chengdu and cultivate our growing community of local innovators by providing them with the resources they need to succeed.”
By Vivian Foo, Unicorn Media
EVISU buys back rights to China retail and franchise at US$40 million
Japanese premium denim brand EVISU has recently made a US$40 million buy-back of its China retailing and franchising rights.
The transaction was carried out by the parent company, EVISU Group Limited with the support of Hong Kong-based Cassia Investments, a consumer-focused PE fund.
Both companies have reinvested a consumer-focused private equity fund, to buy back the interest from EVISU’s joint venture partner in China, New Elegant Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd which is financially supported by IDG Capital Partners.
David Pun, chairman and chief executive officer of EVISU Group Limited, will remain the majority shareholder.
“The company made concerted efforts with its China joint venture partner over the past few years to establish brand awareness and secure a footing in China,” explains David.
Sixteen years through EVISU’s franchise partnership with New Elegant Trading has successfully forged a brand awareness in China.
“We think this is an ideal time for the company to integrate its regional China business with headquarters to pursuit the brand’s global objectives in the coming years,” he adds.
Hence, EVISU will now be actively seeking global business expansion by forging distribution partnerships for the U.S. and Europe markets.
The brand will step up product extensions like EVISUKURO, the latest athleisure collection, and maintain product exclusivity through focused management of wholesale distributors.
Founded in 1991 in Japan, EVISU has become a high-end lifestyle brand, offering a range of products which include jeans, t-shirts, sweaters, knitwear, and glasses for both genders.
Some of the brand’s most iconic denim collections include the series with tattoo-designed graphics. Products of EVISU are sold online at EVISU.com and in more than 150 stores located in 14 countries which include Australia, China, Hong Kong, United Kingdom, and the United States.
By Vivian Foo, Unicorn Media
Video URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzyZH–2Spo