HKVCA Christmas Cocktails 2017
7 December 2017

On the evening of Thursday, 7th December, the HKVCA held its annual Christmas cocktail party at the always elegant China Club. As many as 90 people attended the event, drawn from  all sectors of the private equity and venture capital community. The evening was a truly celebratory affair and was a wonderful way to kick off the festive season.

The HKVCA hosted its latest seminar on 5 December, 2017 at the offices of PwC. Josephine Kwan, a partner at PwC; Henri Arslanian, FinTech & RegTech Lead at PwC China/HK; and Vivian Ma, a partner in financial services in PwC China, discussed with participants the latest trends and opportunities arising in the fintech sector. Among the topics considered were developments in initial coin offerings (ICO) and digital currencies, artificial intelligence, the growth in RegTech and the latest on fintech IPOs.

The HKVCA and the Education Committee were very pleased that nearly 80 participants attended the seminar, which was immediately followed by a cocktail reception where participants had the opportunity to network with colleagues. We would like to thank our dynamic and knowledgeable speakers, and a special thanks to our sponsor, PwC, whose support made this popular event possible.

The HKVCA hosted a luncheon seminar on the topic of driving transformational change in PE portfolio businesses on 1 December, 2017 at the China Club. Eric Wang and Oliver Stratton, managing directors at Alvarez & Marsal, provided their views on the handling of priorities and different approach through the growth cycle. They also discussed issues related to operational due diligence and the importance of establishing a mandate for change; effective stakeholder management; and ensuring high impact roles for all involved parties. Wang also highlighted a number of successful cases where his team were able to move their position from recession to growth.

The HKVCA’s LP Committee hosted its latest LP only luncheon on 7 November, 2017 at the China Club. Lorna Chen, Head of Greater China at Shearman & Sterling, and Wen Tan, Co-Head of Asia Private Equity at Aberdeen International Fund Managers, discussed the latest global and regional issues facing LPs, including emerging trends around co-investment terms, and the removal and replacement of GPs.

The HKVCA and the LP Committee were delighted that more than 25 LP representatives attended the luncheon and had an opportunity to meet and network with colleagues. We would like to thank all the participants who helped make this event a success, with special thanks to our speakers who made the event possible.

HKVCA Members Breakfast Meeting
3 November 2017

The HKVCA's monthly breakfast meeting was held at the Hong Kong Club on Friday, 3 November, 2017. The event attracted over 80 members taking full advantage of the opportunity to network and reconnect with their fellow industry practitioners. This month's breakfast would not have been possible without the support of KPMG to whom we would like to extend our sincere thanks for their sponsorship and help in making this terrific networking event possible.

HKVCA Brownbag Luncheon Talk: 
Ireland: A Key Jurisdiction for Alternative Investment Platform
2 November 2017

At a brownbag luncheon on Thursday, November 2nd, Darren Bowdern, partner in KPMG’s Hong Kong tax practice; Gareth Bryan, tax partner with KPMG in Ireland, and Tony Mancini, head of tax at KPMG in Guernsey, gave a comprehensive presentation to 50 attendees about the overview of establishing PE funds in Cayman Islands, Guernsey and Ireland. The speakers addressed the benefits when used as a fund or feeder vehicle, and comparing and contrasting different jurisdictions. We would like to thank all the participants, and especially our co-organizer, KPMG, whose support made this event possible.

The HKVCA hosted a luncheon seminar on Hong Kong’s licensing regime on 31st October, 2017 at the China Club. Anne-Marie Godfrey, Partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, offered an outline of the typical unlicensed structure for private equity funds. She then discussed the requirements for type 1, 4 and 7 licenses; the various options for licensing private equity fund managers and or advisors, and the implications once licensed; and the tax issues that may be raised. She also referenced a number of recently updated rulings in Hong Kong.

HKVCA Private Equity Fundamentals Course 2017
September - October 2017

The HKVCA’s Private Equity Fundamentals Course, our comprehensive training program aimed at enhancing knowledge of the core fundamentals of private equity and venture capital, was held over six separate days, beginning in September and ending in late October. We were pleased this year to have had the support of the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited, Hong Kong University’s MBA program, as well as the MBA program at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. The course was well attended with more than 80 registrants.

Two of the sessions, dealing with early stage investment and private equity basics, were completed on September 5^th. Additional modules, on investment decisions, valuation issues and ESG, transaction documentation and post investment matters, were completed on September 12th, 19th, 21st and 27th respectively. A tax and fundraising module, which was sponsored by KPMG, was completed on the 11^th of October. The final module, a session dedicated to examining case studies, was held on October 25th.

The Association would like to extend a special thank you to our speakers:

• John Levack, from the HKVCA and Electra Partners Asia, who delivered the opening remarks at the private equity and management of portfolio companies sessions.
• K O Chia, from the HKVCA and Grace Financial, who discussed early stage post investment, exits, and provided an introduction to private equity.
• Pratima Divgi, of Aberdeen Asset Management, who delivered an overview of private equity in Asia.
• Lorna Chen and Anil Motwani, from Shearman & Sterling, who discussed the relevant legal issues relevant to private equity funds.
• Jinghua Zhou, of Morrison & Foerster, who took attendees through the latest regulatory issues in China.
• Marvin Lai, from the HKVCA and iTM Ventures c/o Burgeon Group Consulting, who provided an introduction to the subject of early stage investment, the screening process and valuation.
• Chris Knight, from Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, who spoke on negotiations and term sheets.
• Vincent Warner, of Chepstow Capital, who spoke about deal sourcing and due diligence.
• William Ho, who highlighted the differences between equity and debt financing.
• Robert Kwok, of Ernst & Young, who discussed valuation issues.
• Alvin Lam, from CVC Capital Partners, who discussed ESG and shared his experience with Hong Kong Broadband Network Limited.
• Patrick Yip, Roy Phan and William Lee of Deloitte, who discussed complex tax issues.
• Simon Cooke, Frank Sun and Amy Beckingham, from Latham & Watkins, who spoke on deal protection and risk allocation issues.
• Rocky Lee, of Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP, who discussed non-leveraged and venture capital transactions.
• Andew Whan and Neeraj Budhwani, from Clifford Chance, who spoke on buyouts.
• Miranda Tang and Michael Chan, from CLSA Capital Partners and Hong Kong Exchange and Clearing, who discussed exit strategies.
• Arion Yiu of KPMG, who spoke on the accounting of private equity funds.
• Dennis Kwan and Jonathan Lee, from MVision, who discussed GP fundraising.
• Malcolm Prebble, from KPMG China, who spoke on tax considerations in structuring private equity funds.
• Professors Roger King and Winne Peng from HKUST, Oscar Chow from Polaris Holdings, and NiQ Lai from Hong Kong Broadband Network Limited, who presented and delivered the case studies.

The HKVCA held its annual wine tasting event on the evening of 18th September at the Hong Kong Club. The theme of the night was "California Dreamin", and the evenings proceedings proved extremely popular, attracting close to 60 members and other professionals. Our Master of Wine, Debra Meiburg, took the audience through an informative and entertaining presentation while also offering attendees a fabulous selection of wines from Sonoma, particularly Pinot Noir. The evening was great fun and the Association received much positive feedback from the enthusiastic participants. We would like to thank our organizing committee - Marcus Thompson, Alain Fontaine and Anthony Chan – for their time and efforts and for being part of another very successful event. Of course special thanks must go to our generous sponsor, Alvarez & Marsal, without whose support the event would not have been possible.

HKVCA Qianhai Visit
8 September 2017

Members from the HKVCA made a special visit to Qianhai on 8 September, 2017. Organized by the PRC Committee, leaders from Qianhai Financial Holdings and Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Fund Town co-hosted a half day event for private equity fund managers. Representatives from Qianhai discussed the various advantages of setting up local branches and highlighted a number of such businesses that have recently done so successfully.

The HKVCA was very pleased to have been able to invite Forest Lin, Managing Director of Tencent Investment; Roger Luo, Chief Executive of DJI; and Dan Yu, CFO of Wuhan Healthgen Biotechnology Corp to join the event and they provided the delegation with their views of the latest trends in private investment and the startup ecosystem in IOT and biotechnology. Lin stressed the importance of integrating the latest technology into the “real world” and offered some key statistics on private equity and NYSE listed companies. Luo, who is also an experienced engineer, spoke about the success of DJI and its most recent developments, while Yu revealed his company’s upcoming expansion plans.

The HKVCA and the PRC Committee were delighted that over 30 members were able to take the time from their busy schedules to join the tour and take advantage of the networking opportunity with professionals from Qianhai. We would like to thank all the participants, and especially our co-organizer, Qianhai Financial Holdings, whose support made this event possible.

The HKVCA hosted its latest brownbag luncheon talk on 31 August, 2017 at the law offices of Shearman & Sterling. Lorna Chen, Head of Greater China and Partner, Asset Management; and Li Chen and Stephanie Tang, partners in Shearman & Sterling’s M&A Group, discussed the latest updates and major trends related to the regulation of PRC outbound investment. The speakers also offered their thoughts on how best to handle the latest regulations and alternative deal structures. In addition to highlighting the rules on outbound transactions, they also reminded the audience of the need for regulatory approval and or review at the destination of investments. 

The HKVCA and the Education Committee were very pleased that close to 40 members were able to take the time from their busy schedules to attend the lunch and take advantage of the networking opportunity with their colleagues. We would like to thank all the participants, and especially our sponsor, Shearman & Sterling, whose support made this event possible.

A luncheon talk with speaker Andrew Weir, Regional Senior Partner, Vice Chairman of KPMG China, was held on 24 August, 2017 at the China Club. Over 60 attendees were present for the very popular event, which was titled “Belt and Road: From Rhetoric to Reality”.  In his discussions Andrew provided an outline of the initiative and his own analysis of the many opportunities “Belt and Road” presents. We would like to thank Andrew for providing our members with his valuable insights and also a special thanks to KPMG who sponsored the luncheon and whose support made the event possible.

On July 13, 2017, the HKVCA members’ market consultation on the New Board Concept Paper and GEM Review meeting was held at the HKEx’s Exchange Exhibition Hall. More than 50 representatives from private equity and venture capital firms attended the meeting. 
    
James Fok, Head of Group Strategy and Project Management at HKEx, and Grace Hui, Managing Director and COO of the Listing Division at HKEx, discussed details of the proposal, including the way the different boards – the Main Board, GEM and New Board – would be positioned in the market. The issue is an important one for our members, who represent a wide spectrum of private equity investment, from very early stage to large buyouts. Moreover, over the last five years, 24% of HKEx IPOs have involved private equity investors.

The fourth annual Hong Kong Venture Capital Forum (HKVCF), organized by the Hong Kong Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (HKVCA), was held on Monday, July 10, 2017. Hosted at KPMG’s impressive conference rooms at Hysan Place, the Forum proved to be an overwhelming success with over 230 industry professionals in attendance.
   
Welcoming remarks were given by Darren Bowdern, Partner, Tax, KPMG Hong Kong, while a highly memorable keynote address was delivered by Matt Dill, Senior Vice President for Innovation and Strategic Partnerships at Visa.
  
The first panel of the day discussed India and featured Varun Bery, Senior Advisor at Latitude Capital; Annand Prasanna, Managing Partner at Iron Pillar; Amit Annand, Founding Partner at Jungle Ventures; and Ben Mathias, Managing Director and Head of India at Vertex Ventures.  
   
The second panel discussed venture investment trends in ASEAN and featured KO Chia, Director at Grace Financial; Amit Anand, Founding Partner at Jungle Ventures; Kay-Mok Ku, Partner at Gobi Ventures; Peng Ong, Managing Director at Monk’s Hill Ventures; Markus Gnirck, Co-founder and Managing Director at tryb Capital; and Jeffrey Chi, Vice Chairman at Vickers Venture Partners.  
     
The third panel of the afternoon focused on Japan and Korea and featured a lively discussion with Melissa Guzy, Co-founder and Managing Partner at Arbor Ventures; Han Kim, Managing Director at Altos Ventures; Emre Yuasa, Principal at Globis Capital Partners; Yo Nakagawa, Executive Director at Monex Group; and Ben Takeuchi, Vice President at Sumitomo Corporation Equity Asia.
   
The fourth panel focused on technical issues in Hong Kong and featured James Savage, Founding Partner at Demetr Ventures; Darren Bowdern, Partner, Tax at KPMG Hong Kong; Rocky Lee, International Partner and Head of the U.S. Corporate Practice at King & Wood Mallesons; and Stephen Tang, CFO at Lunar Capital.
   
The final panel examined LP sentiment and featured Eric Mason, Managing Director – Asia Investment at The Church Pension Fund; PV Wang, Co-CIO at Noah Holdings; Jie Gong, Partner at Pantheon Ventures; and Pokman Yiu, Executive Director at Royal Fund Management.
    
In addition to the panels, the Forum also featured a fireside chat with Annie Choi, Commissioner for Innovation and Technology of the HKSAR, and Denis Tse, Managing Partner at Asia-IO Advisors, discussing the latest on Hong Kong’s Innovation and Technology Venture Fund (see article on the following page). There was also a so-called “lightning round” featuring Hong Kong startup and venture capitalist Duncan Chiu, Managing Partner at Radiant Venture Capital, and Steven Lam, Co-founder and CEO at GoGoVan.
   
The Forum ended with a cocktail reception hosted by sponsor KPMG where the participants - investors, advisors and entrepreneurs – were able to enjoy a valuable networking opportunity.  
   
We would like to sincerely thank our generous sponsors, specifically our Platinum Sponsor, KPMG, and our Venture Forum Sponsor, King & Wood Mallesons. Finally, we would like to thank the Association’s Venture Committee and all the participants for their continued support that helped make this special event possible.

Click here to visit photo album.
Video Highlights can be viewed here.

The HKVCA's monthly breakfast meeting was held at the Hong Kong Club on Friday, 7 July, 2017. The event attracted over 80 members taking full advantage of the opportunity to network and reconnect with their fellow industry practitioners. This month's breakfast would not have been possible without the sponsorship of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld to whom we would like to extend our sincere thanks for their sponsorship and help in making this terrific networking event possible.

The HKVCA hosted its latest brownbag luncheon talk on 27 June, 2017 at HKEX’s Exchange Auditorium. Alvin Lam, Senior Managing Director of CVC; Brian Ho, China Sustainability Leader – Climate Change and Sustainability Services of EY; Hauman Yeung, Director of Ascent Partners Advisory Service; Jamie Allen, Secretary General of Asia Corporate Governance Association; Jeanne Ng, Director – Group Sustainability, CLP Power; and Katherine Ng, Head of Policy - Listing Department of HKEX, discussed the latest trends and challenges in the approach of Hong Kong listed companies to ESG. The speakers also discussed HKEX’s ESG reporting requirements, objectives and process. At the end of the panel discussion, Jeanne Ng shared CLP’s own ESG approach and integrated reporting with the audience.

The HKVCA and the ESG Committee were very pleased that as many as 80 members attended the luncheon talk and were able to take the opportunity to meet and network with their colleagues. We would like to thank all the participants, and especially our venue sponsor, HKEX, whose ongoing support has proved invaluable.

The HKVCA hosted a luncheon seminar on 21 June, 2017 at the China Club. Kartick Maheshwari and Siddharth Shah, Partners at Khaitan & Co, provided attendees with an update on Indian regulatory and taxation issues, including those related to distress and special situation investments, downside protection and tax structuring for Indian investments. As part of their presentation, Kartick and Siddharth referred to a number of recent rulings of the Indian courts dealing with the recognition of assured return structures in India. 

More than 60 HKVCA members attended the luncheon talk and we would like to thank all the participants, and especially our sponsor, Khaitan & Co, for their generous support of this popular event.

An HKVCA Masterclass, providing in-depth practical learning on the use of segregated portfolio companies (SPCs) in the establishment of private equity funds, was held on 8 June, 2017, at the office of international law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld in Central. The very technical discussion was led by two speakers from the firm: Anne-Marie Godfrey, Partner, and Chris Knight, Counsel. Among the topics examined was an overview of the structure of SPCs; the pros and cons of using SPCs for PE fund; the recommendations from ILPA; and how to deal with drawdown, distributing waterfalls, clawbacks, co-investments as well as other provisions. We would like to thank Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld for their support of this event in our important Masterclass series.

The Hong Kong Venture Capital and Private Equity Association’s 16th China Private Equity Summit (CPES) was held on 26 May, 2017 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. The theme of this year's event focused on the liquidity and regulatory uncertainties, as well as outbound transactions opportunities, and featured more than 50 expert speakers and panelists representing general partners, limited partners and advisors. The Forum attracted over 500 delegates, of which more than half were senior level and C-suite executives.      
    
As it has in previous years, the 2017 Summit brought together a diverse and experienced group of private equity and venture capital practitioners who invest across all stages and segments onshore and offshore China, including direct investing, secondaries and co-investments. Among the topics discussed as part of the event’s programme were the key issues emerging in terms of investor sentiment, fund mangers’ preferences, buyouts, RMB funds, China capital markets and cross-border investments.  There was also discussion of current trends in the media and entertainment sectors and China's transition to a new economy.
   
As this is the year in which the HKVCA commemorates the 30th anniversary of its founding, the Summit also provided the Association with a tremendous opportunity to reaffirm its commitment to extending its reach to all sectors of the profession. Among the distinguished guests who participated in CPES 2017 were Professor K C Chan, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Hong Kong SAR; Charles Li, Chief Executive, HKEX; Lei Cai, Chairman, JD Capital; Eric Mason, Managing Director, The Church Pension Fund; Wendy Zhu, Managing Director, AlpInvest; and Yan Liu, Chairman, Beijing Tianxing Capital Company.
       
We are proud that the China Private Equity Summit has come to be seen as an indispensable platform for practitioners to meet not only their peers, but also government representatives and professional colleagues from other industry associations across the globe. We would like to thank our extremely knowledgeable audience of attendees, many of whom traveled from around the region and overseas. Our most sincere appreciation extends also to our valuable media partners and supporting organizations, and, finally, to our generous sponsors, whose substantial contributions and support made the event not only possible, but indeed hugely successful. 

CPES website: http://cpes.hkvca.com.hk/cpes-2017/

The HKVCA's monthly breakfast meeting was held at the Hong Kong Club on Friday, 12 May, 2017. The event was attracted close to 70 members taking full advantage of the opportunity to network and reconnect with their fellow industry practitioners. This month's breakfast would not have been possible without the sponsorship of Richful Deyong to whom we would like to extend our sincere thanks for their continued support and help in making this terrific networking event possible for our members. 

The HKVCA hosted its latest brownbag luncheon talk on 20 April 2017 at Deloitte’s offices. Professor Kenneth Lee, Chief of the School of Biomedical Science at The Chinese University of Hong Kong; Judith Li, Partner at Lilly Asia Ventures; and Bosun Hau, Sailing Capital’s Managing Director and Partner, discussed the latest trends in biotechnology, in particular the various applications for stem cell technology and the outlook for 3D bioprinting. Bosun and Judith also shared their thoughts on current investment sentiment in the healthcare space as well as the strength of the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sectors across geographies.

The HKVCA and the Education Committee is very pleased that as many as 70 members attended the luncheon talk and were also able to take the opportunity to meet and network with their colleagues. We would like to thank all the participants, and especially our venue sponsor, Deloitte, whose support made this event possible.

The HKVCA’s LP Committee hosted its latest LP only luncheon on 30th March 2017 at the Hong Kong Club. Wendy Zhu, Managing Director of AlpInvest Partners; Denise Mak, Managing Director of CVC; Terrance Philips, Managing Director of Citigroup Global Markets Asia; Janet Cheung, Partner and Head of Valuations and Modelling at KPMG; and Alice Chan, Head of Asia Private Equity Services at Silicon Valley Bank, discussed the current trends and overall environment of fund level leverage in Asia. The speakers stressed that operating efficiently was a  major factor determining which leverage level would enhance the overall IRR as well as limit the J-curve effect so it is less subject to currency risk and other negative criteria. The speakers also addressed the recent appetite of lenders operating in the market. 

The HKVCA and the LP Committee were especially pleased that more than 25 LP representatives attended this informative event where they also had a valuable opportunity to meet and network with their colleagues. We would like to thank all the participants who helped make this event a great success and especially our sponsor, KPMG, whose enthusiastic support made the event possible.

The HKVCA held its Annual Golf Day on Friday, March 3rd, 2017. The event was a tremendous success with perfect weather bringing blue skies and a brilliant sunny day. A record number of golfers teed off at the Hong Kong Golf Club in Fanling and the event itself drew over 90 attendees, including non-golfers. Participants also enjoyed a delicious lunch and a valuable opportunity to network with their peers both on and off the course.
 
We would like to thank our generous sponsors, specifically our Platinum Sponsors Citi, Morgan Stanley and White & Case; our Gold Sponsors Ernst & Young and Lexington Partners; our Silver Sponsor, Mercedes-Benz; our Watch Sponsor, Oriental Watch Holdings Limited; our Breakfast Sponsor, Aon; and our Wine Sponsor, BlackPine. We would also like to thank the HKVCA’s Golf Committee - Varun Bery, Chin Chou, Bob Partridge, Sunil Chandiramani and Adam Goern - for their support and leadership.
 
We are especially proud to be able to report that we raised HK$25,000 dollars for the Hong Kong Society for the Protection of Children. Our special thanks to all the participants for their continued support and contributions and the hardworking HKVCA team that helped make this special event possible.
     

More photos can be viewed here.

The HKVCA’s Family Office Committee hosted its latest family office only luncheon on 23 February, 2017 at the China Club. K.O. Chia, Chair of the Committee, provided an introduction to the HKVCA as an organization and discussed the Association's initiatives and aims in establishing  the Family Office Committee. Attendees were then encouraged to join in and share their own experiences and interests, including those of the family offices they are associated with and the types of investments they have an interest in - alternative asset classes, the various sectors of private equity and so forth. Also discussed were which topics attendees might be interested in exploring at future family office gatherings. 

The HKVCA and the Family Office Committee were especially pleased that 19 family office representatives were able to find time from their busy schedules to attend the lunch and to network with their colleagues. We would like to thank the Committee and all the participants who helped to make this event a great success.   

The HKVCA held its Gala Dinner 2017 on the evening of Tuesday, 17 January. This popular annual event, which this year was sold out, had more than 200 attendees who gathered at the elegant Hong Kong Country Club to enjoy an evening of great food and excellent entertainment. Each of the tables at the dinner featured creative and colorful decorations incorporating themed figures representing the festivities associated with the upcoming Chinese New Year of the Rooster. The evening’s entertainment was perhaps the major highlight of the night, with a unique yet totally captivating performance delivered by a group of students from Kings College Hong Kong who each played the harmonica. The HKVCA was pleased to be able to make a donation to support the young musicians dedicated to the development of this often overlooked instrument. The evening also featured a presentation outlining the HKVCA’s 2016 activities and outstanding achievements throughout the year. We would like to extend our special thanks to our cocktail sponsors, King & Wood Mallesons and MVision, for supporting this tremendously successful event. Our thanks also to all participants who helped to make our annual dinner a most unforgettable and wonderful night.   

More photos can be viewed here.

The HKVCA monthly breakfast meeting was held at the Hong Kong Club on Friday, 6 January. The event was oversubscribed, with more than 70 members taking full advantage of the opportunity to network and reconnect with their fellow industry practitioners after the end of year festivities. To commemorate this first breakfast meeting of 2017, the HKVCA conducted an informal and fun poll surveying members’ views on the outlook for the global and Chinese markets in 2017, as well as who they believed would be the next chief executive of Hong Kong. The results of the very unscientific poll were best described as being “positive”.

This month's breakfast would not have been possible without the sponsorship of Intertrust to whom we would like to extend our sincere thanks for their continued support and help in making this terrific networking event possible for our members. We of course also wish each and every one a very happy New Year and best wishes for 2017.