PALO ALTO, Calif. & SHANGHAI, China–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Oct. 14, 2003–Leading expansion stage venture capital firm, Focus Ventures, today announced its 2003 Asian Forum being held at the GrandHyatt Hotel from October 13-15 in Pudong, Shanghai jointly with The Mingly Corporation Limited and The China International Intellectech Corporation. The focus of the Forum will be to examine:
— the economic outlook and key issues in China;
— the state of the information technology (IT) sector in China;
— the state of venture capital in the U.S. and China; and
— how private venture backed companies in the U.S. can enter and
realize success in China.
The meeting brings together executives from leading Chinese manufacturers, system integrators and distributors with strategic Asian corporate and private equity investors. Selected guest speakers include Chinese government officials and leading economic and technology experts such as Jiang Si Xian, Deputy Mayor of Shanghai in charge of the planning and development of Pudong New Area; Dr. Zhou Guangzhao, Chairman of China Association for Science & Technology; Esther Liu, Deputy General Manager, SMIC; Dr. Lawrence Lau, Kwoh-Ting Li Professor of Economics, Stanford University; James Ding, Chairman, AsiaInfo; Dr. Edward Tse, Greater China Managing Director, Booz Allen & Hamilton; Karin Finkelston, Country Manager, China and Mongolia IFC; Dr. Liang Wu, EVP New Technologies, Pacific Century Cyber Works; and Dr. Robert Temple, author of The Genius of China.
In addition, selected participants from China include executives from Huawei Electronics, Putian, Eastcomm, China Unicom, Digital China, Shanghai Stock Exchange, and from elsewhere, Sanyo, Mitsubishi, ITRI, SK Telecom, and GIC.
“Today China is one of the most vibrant, exciting markets for IT spending and development,” says James Boettcher, General Partner of Focus Ventures. “Working with companies in China poses both incredible opportunities and unique challenges and it is vital for companies on both sides of the Pacific to learn how best to partner to achieve their goals. For example, as an expansion stage investor, we specifically target companies who can benefit from the market opportunities in Asia and then pair these companies with our extensive contact base in Japan, Hong Kong, China, and the rest of Asia. This invaluable network has helped our portfolio increase its business development efforts and expand revenue opportunities in Asia, particularly in China.”
The object of the Forum is to create value on both sides of the Pacific. Through its Asian connections, Focus Ventures can facilitate distribution, licensing, manufacturing, hosting, systems integration, and other joint venture arrangements for U.S. technology firms. In turn, Asian limited partners can gain access to new business concepts, products and emerging technologies provided by Focus’ portfolio companies.
The forum is being held in partnership with the Mingly Corporation Ltd., a financial advisory and investment company of the Cha Group focused on providing capital and assistance to U.S. information technology and life sciences companies looking to establish, expand, and fund their presence in China and for systems integrators, telecom services, and related investments in China. In addition, China International Intellectech Corp., a leading human resources and foreign co-operation services company, is sponsoring the event.
For more information about the Focus Ventures Asian Forum, contact Colin Davitian, Associate, (650) 325-7400, e-mail: [email protected]
To view a current agenda, please visit our website at http://www.focusventures.com/asianforum.pdf
About Focus Ventures
Focus Ventures is the leading expansion stage venture capital firm that invests in emerging market leaders in the software, semiconductor and communications industries. Focus Ventures currently manages $570 million, having closed its first fund in October 1997 and Focus Ventures II in December 1999. Focus Ventures offers its portfolio companies access to high quality partners in Asia and an extensive network of resources focused specifically on driving top line revenue growth through customer introductions and by establishing distribution channels, joint ventures and licensing arrangements. Since the firm’s inception, Focus Ventures has invested in 68 companies and has had 20 IPOs and seven acquisitions by public companies. A select number of portfolio companies that have gone public include: Active Software, Agile Software, Alteon WebSystems, BroadBase Software, Chordiant Software, Commerce One, Copper Mountain Networks, Corio, CoSine Communications, Interwoven, Loudcloud, Niku, Pixelworks, and Verisity. For more information on Focus Ventures, visit www.focusventures.com or call 650.325.7400.
About Mingly Corporation Ltd.
Established in 1988 as a financial advisory and investment company of the Cha Group, Mingly’s objective is to enhance the value of the Group by assuming the lead in organizing corporate restructuring and financial activities, making strategic investments and building successful ventures. In the field of financial services, Mingly partnered with Morgan Stanley and the China Construction Bank to found China International Capital Corporation, the first Sino-joint venture investment bank in China. The Cha Group has been an active technology investor in Silicon Valley for more than 20 years. Charter Ventures has been one of the Group’s primary entities for U.S. technology investing since the early 1980’s. In addition, the Group was one of the founding investors in Focus Ventures and over the course of the last twenty years has been an investor in many other leading U.S. venture capital funds. The Group also includes C.M. Capital, a diversified asset management company which manages investments in a wide variety of asset classes, including public equity, private equity funds of several types, market neutral and hedge funds, real estate and direct investments. For more information visit http://www.minglycapital.com.
About China International Intellectech Corp
China International Intellectech Corporation (CIIC) was founded in June 1987. It is a leading State-Owned Enterprise (SOE) under direct administration of the central government. Funded solely by the State Council, CIIC is now the most powerful and influential international corporation in the field of human resources in China. Intensified techno-intellectual service trade embodies the main feature of CIIC, while the combination of human resources and international cooperation on the techno-brainpower level is its major operational pattern. The core business of CIIC focuses on three major areas, i.e., foreign enterprise service, international economic cooperation, and capital operation. CIIC, by obtaining competitive edges in its major business areas with the best of its efforts, has also been engaged in seeking new points of business growth and developing other undertakings affiliated with the core business. Those new business areas include import & export agency of technology, overseas consulting services, training, aviation transporting and courier services. For more information visit http://www.ciic.com.cn/english/index.html.
