HKVCF 2017

Past Event

HKVCF 2017

 

 

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 delivered by Darren Bowdern, Partner, Tax, KPMG Hong Kong, while memorable keynote address was provided by Matt Dill, Senior Vice President for Innovation & Strategic Partnerships in Visa.
 
The first panel of the day was on India, with a panel that 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 & Head of India at Vertex Ventures.
 
The second panel discussed the 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 & 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 & 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 was addressed 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 discussed the LP sentiments 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.
 
Apart from the panels, there were two fireside chat sessions: Introducing HKSAR Venture Co-Investment Program by Annie Choi, Commissioner for Innovation and Technology, HKSAR and Denis Tse, Managing Partner at Asia-IO Advisors; and Lightning Round: HK Startup and Venture Capitalist by Duncan Chiu, Managing Partner at Radiant Venture Capital and Steven Lam, Co-founder & CEO at GoGoVan.
 
The Forum ended with a lively cocktail reception, hosted by our sponsor KPMG, and all the participants – investors, advisors and entrepreneurs – were able to be part of a valuable networking opportunity.
 
We would like to thank most sincerely 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 and contributions that helped make this special event possible.
 
Click here to visit photo album.
 
 

HKVCF 2017: startups going global
   
13:45 – 13:48 Call to Order
Melissa Guzy, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Arbor Ventures
  
13:48 – 13:50 Welcoming Remarks
Darren Bowdern, Partner, Tax, KPMG Hong Kong
  
13:50 – 14:10 Keynote 
Matthew Dill, Senior Vice President, Innovation & Strategic Partnerships, Visa
  
14:10 – 14:50 India Panel
Moderator
Varun Bery, Senior Advisor, Latitude Capital Management
 
Panelists
Anand Prasanna, Managing Partner, Iron Pillar
Amit Anand, Founding Partner, Jungle Ventures
Ben Mathias, Managing Director & Head of India, Vertex Ventures
  
14:50 – 15:10 Fireside Chat: Introducing HKSAR Venture Co-Investment Program
Annie Choi, Commissioner for Innovation and Technology, HKSAR
 
Interviewer
Denis Tse, Managing Partner, Asia-IO Advisors
  
15:10 – 15:50 ASEAN Panel
Moderator
KO Chia, Director, Grace Financial
   
Panelists
Kay-Mok Ku, Partner, Gobi Ventures
Peng Ong, Managing Director, Monk’s Hill Ventures
Amit Anand, Founding Partner, Jungle Ventures
Markus Gnirck, Co-Founder & Managing Director, tryb Capital
Jeffrey Chi, Vice Chairman, Vickers Venture Partners
  
15:50 – 16:00 Coffee Break
16:00 – 16:20 10 in 10 Lightning Round: HK Startup and Venture Capitalist
Steven Lam, Co-Founder & CEO, GoGoVan
Duncan Chiu, Managing Director, Radiant Venture Capital
  
16:20 – 17:00 Japan and Korea Panel  
Moderator
Melissa Guzy, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Arbor Ventures
 
Panelists
Han Kim, Managing Director, Altos Ventures
Emre Yuasa, Principal, Globis Capital Partners
Yo Nakagawa, Executive Director, Monex Group
Ben Takeuchi, Vice President, Sumitomo Corporation Equity Asia
  
17:00 – 17:40 Technical Panel
Moderator
James Savage, Founding Partner, Demetr Ventures
   
Panelists 
Rocky Lee,  International Partner, Head of the U.S. Corporate Practice, King & Wood Mallesons
Darren Bowdern, Partner, Tax, KPMG Hong Kong
tephen Tang, CFO, Lunar Capital
  
17:40 – 18:20 LP Panel
Moderator
Eric Mason, Managing Director – Asia Investments, The Church Pension Fund
 
Panelists 
PV Wang, Co-CIO, Noah Holdings
Jie Gong, Partner, Pantheon Ventures
Pokman Yiu, Executive Director, Royal Fund Management
   
18:20 – 20:00 Cocktail Reception

Keynote speaker

 

Matthew Dill
Senior Vice President, Innovation and Strategic Partnerships, Visa

Matt Dill is Visa’s Senior Vice President for Innovation & Strategic Partnerships. He leads a team that manages large-scale commercial programs in the technology sector and guides Visa’s strategic partnership activities with technology companies and fintech. show more…

Fireside Chat I
 

Annie Choi
Commissioner for Innovation and Technology, HKSAR

Ms Annie Choi joined the Hong Kong Government in 1986. She has served in a number of policy bureaux and departments, including the Home Affairs Department, Civil Service Bureau as well as the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau. show more…

Fireside Chat II
 

Steven Lam
Co-Founder & CEO, GOGOVAN

Steven Lam is the Co-Founder and CEO of GOGOVAN, which was founded in 2013. Steven is responsible for the development of the overall business strategy and driving the growth and profitability of the business across the region. This also includes establishing business partnerships and securing funding.
 
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Confirmed Speakers (alphabetically by firm name)
 

Han Kim
Managing Director, Altos Ventures

Han Kim is a Managing Director and co-founder of Altos Ventures, focusing on investments in the areas of mobile and software services. He also concentrates on companies with significant business in Asia, leveraging the firm’s substantial contacts in the region, particularly in Korea. Han currently serves on the boards of numerous Korea based private companies. show more…
Melissa Guzy
Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Arbor Ventures

Melissa, who is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Arbor Ventures, has more than 25 years of experience as an entrepreneur and as a venture investor. Prior to founding of Arbor, Melissa was the Managing Director, member of the Investment Committee and head of VantagePoint Asia. During her tenure at VantagePoint, she invested in early stage technology companies in both Asia and in Silicon Valley. show more…
Denis Tse
Managing Principal, Asia-IO Advisors

Denis Tse is the Managing Partner of Asia-IO Advisors Limited. Most recently he was the Head of Asia – Private Investment with Lockheed Martin Investment Management Company. He has 15 years of private equity direct and fund investment experience in Asia, having worked with J.H Whitney, CDIB Capital, and HSBC Private Equity (Asia), where he became the first Kauffman Fellow from an Asian venture firm. show more…
Eric Mason
Managing Director, The Church Pension Fund

Eric Mason is a Managing Director of The Church Pension Fund. He joined the Church Pension Fund in 2009 as the head of the Fund’s new Asian office based in Hong Kong and has been based in Asia for almost 25 years. Mr. Mason and his team are responsible for the Fund’s investments in Asia across all asset classes with a focus on private equity, real estate and hedge funds. show more…
James Savage
Founding Partner, Demetr Ventures

James has over 20 years experience as a financial investment professional in the technology sector in Asia, with asset management, professional services and industry experience. Based in Hong Kong since 1994, he has built up an extensive knowledge of the technology industry in the Asian region including Japan, Korea, Greater China, SE Asia and India. show more…
Emre Yuasa
Principal, Globis Capital Partners

Emre is Principal at Globis Capital Partners, leading investments mainly in Fintech, AI, Blockchain, drones and internet media. He sits on the board of GLM (electric car), V-Cube Robotics Japan (drone service), MFS (mortgage and personal credit scoring), Global Mobility Service (auto loan, IoT), Tabi Labo (vertical digital media) and also work closely with Money Design (roboadvsior) and other unannounced investments.   show more…
Kay-Mok Ku
Partner, Gobi Ventures

Kay-Mok joined Gobi in 2010 as Partner (ASEAN). Prior to Gobi, he worked at MediaCorp, the national broadcaster of Singapore as well as the Infocomm Media Development Authority, which managed a $500 million digital media venture fund on behalf of the National Research Foundation. He has worked in Silicon Valley for over 10 years, where he co-founded Private Express Inc. show more…


PV Wang,
Co-CIO, Noah Holdings (Hong Kong) Limited
Private Equity Partner, Gopher Asset Management


Mr. Wang is a senior global private equity specialist who has directly overseen the deployment of over US$3 billion through fund, direct, co-investment and secondary investments. show more…

Anand Prasanna
Managing Partner, Iron Pillar

Anand Prasanna is a Managing Partner at Iron Pillar, a fund manager focused on mid-stage technology investments in India. He spends his time working with new generation of Indian technology entrepreneurs, building global technology businesses out of India or domestic consumer tech companies. show more…
Amit Anand
Founding Partner, Jungle Ventures

Amit Anand is the Founding Partner of Jungle Ventures, a Singapore based Venture Capital Firm that invests in and helps build tech category leaders from Asia. Jungle has a dedicated team of operating partners and functional experts to support startups as they scale across the region or globally. The firm recently closed its second fund at US$100M, backed by leading institutions and family offices. show more…
Rocky Lee
International Partner, Head of the U.S. Corporate Practice, King & Wood Mallesons

Based in Beijing, Rocky Lee is a well-known deal lawyer with nearly two decades of experience in China cross-border transactions. He is widely recognized as one of the top legal advisors to funds and founders with numerous awards and accolades from the likes of Asia Law & Practice, Chambers Asia, China Business Law Journal, the Financial Times, and Legal 500. show more…
Darren Bowdern
Partner, Tax, KPMG Hong Kong

Darren is a partner in KPMG’s Hong Kong tax practice. He has more than 20 years experience of serving institutions in a wide range of industries in Hong Kong and Asia Pacific.
 
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Varun Bery
, Senior Advisor, Latitude Capital Management


Varun Bery is a Senior Advisor to Latitude Capital Management, an emerging market private equity firm focused on the power sector. He is also currently a Senior Advisor to StormHarbour Securities (Hong Kong).

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Yo Nakagawa
Executive Director, Monex Group

Yo Nakagawa is an Executive Director at Monex Group, Inc., a financial holding company with online brokerage businesses in Japan, US, Hong Kong and Australia.   show more…
Peng T. Ong
Managing Partner, Monk’s Hill Ventures

Peng is an entrepreneur who invests in entrepreneurs. He does so primarily through his role as Managing Director at Monk’s Hill Ventures — a technology venture fund based in Southeast Asia that he co-founded. Peng is an independent board director of YY Inc.[NASDAQ:YY], IE Singapore, IMDA, and Solve Education!. show more…
Jie Gong
Partner, Pantheon Ventures

Jie Gong is a Partner at Pantheon and a member of the Asia Regional Investment committee and the Global Co-investment Committee, and is involved in all aspects of Asian investment activity, with a focus on China. Ms Gong joined Pantheon from Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners’ private equity fund of funds group, where she led Asian investment activities and was a member of the global investment committee.
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Duncan Chiu
Managing Director, Radiant Venture Capital Limited

Managing Director of Radiant Venture Capital. With over 20 years of investment and M&A experience in the Greater China region, and has listed several portfolio companies in the Hong Kong and Shenzhen Stock Exchange. Duncan founded Radiant Venture Capital in 2014 to focus in early stage investments into tech startups.   show more…

 

Pokman Yiu
Executive Director, Royal Fund Management

Mr. Pokman Yiu is the Executive Director for Royal Fund Management, a multi-family office based in Hong Kong which employs a long-term investment strategy similar as those in endowments and pension funds.
 
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Grace Xia
Senior Director, Tencent

Grace Xia is a Senior Director at Tencent. She is responsible for driving company’s Asia market investment, strategy and partnership. Her mission is to bring exceptional technology companies to Tencent’s product eco-system in Asia through business collaboration and investment. Grace is a technology enthusiastic. show more…
Markus Gnirck
Managing Director & Co-Founder, tryb Capital

Markus Gnirck is Managing Director & Co-Founder of tryb Capital, a private equity investment company that invests in growth-stage technology and platforms transforming financial services in Asia, based in Singapore. Additionally, he is also the founding committee member of the Singapore FinTech Association, co-author of the Asia FinTech 100 list and is a keynote speaker at global financial technology & innovation conferences. show more…
Ben Mathias
Managing Director & Head of India, Vertex Ventures

Mr. Ben Mathias is Managing Director and Head of Vertex India, having joined in 2015. While his key focus is in India, he is part of the Vertex team covering India, Southeast Asia and Taiwan.
 
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Jeffrey Chi
Vice Chairman, Vickers Venture Partners

Dr. Jeffrey Chi is a Managing Director of Vickers Venture Partners, Vice Chairman of Vickers Capital Group and a member of its Investment Committee. He is also currently Chairman of the Singapore Venture Capital & Private Equity Association. show more…