China Money Podcast - Video Episodes

visit http://www.chinamoneypodcast.com for more great content. In this episode of China Money Podcast, guest Sam Gupta, CEO of Grand Trunk Capital, explains why he is bullish on the Indian economy and markets, why Indian banks will consolidate in the next two years, and the reason why he prefers to work with the management team. Listen to the full interview in the audio podcast, watch an abbreviated video version, or read an excerpt. Q: First give us a brief introduction of Grand Trunk Capital? A: Grand Trunk Capital is a private investment partnership, (managing money) for institutions and family offices. We focus on special investments in India. Previously I managed a fairly large fund in partnership with Soros Management called QIF Management. QIF Management was at points in time the largest overseas investment fund in India. The strategy (of Grand Trunk Capital) is to focus on five or ten best investment ideas across sectors and geographies within the Indian markets. We are not a trading fund. We tend to take longer term and focused positions in Indian companies where we think there is sufficient mispricing and where we see sufficient upside down the road. Our strategy is very search based, value driven and focused on catalysts. Q: Can you talk about the performance of the (Grand Trunk Capital) fund? A: The fund was up 42% in 2012. We had a very bullish view on the banking system in India, and started buying some Indian banks towards the middle of the summer. That worked really well for us. We also took opportunities in the media space because of the catalyst of regulatory changes. One of our largest investments, (United Spirits), was bought out by Diageo, the world's largest liquor maker, at a significant premium. That's an investment we got into in early 2012. .....

Visit http://www.ChinaMoneyPodcast.com for more great episodes! In this episode of China Money Podcast, guest Prof. Chen Zhiwu, professor of finance at Yale University, discusses why he is an overall pessimist when it comes to China's long-term economic prospects, why he is worried about the economic spillover from China and Japan's dispute over Diaoyu Island for 2013, and why he thinks inflation will run rampant in China for the next ten years. Listen to the full interview in the audio podcast, watch an abbreviated video version, or read an excerpt..... Visit http://www.ChinaMoneyPodcast.com for more great episodes!

Visit http://www.ChinaMoneyNetwork.com for more great episodes! In this episode of China Money Network, guest Prof. Chen Zhiwu, professor of finance at Yale University, discusses why he is an overall pessimist when it comes to China's long-term economic prospects, why he is worried about the economic spillover from China and Japan's dispute over Diaoyu Island for 2013, and why he thinks inflation will run rampant in China for the next ten years. Listen to the full interview in the audio podcast, watch an abbreviated video version, or read an excerpt..... Visit http://www.ChinaMoneyNetwork.com for more great episodes!

In this episode of China Money Network, guest Jenny Gao, managing partner of Mandarin Capital, talks about how her fund helped an Italian company to penetrate the Chinese market, and why she is betting on the future of China's Dagong Global Credit Rating's future in Europe. Listen to the full interview in the audio podcast, watch an abbreviated video version, or read an excerpt. Q: You are only the second female guest on our program's one-and-half-year history. So let's start with your personal career. You initially worked at one of China's three policy banks, the Export and Import Bank of China. How did you get into the private equity industry? A: I worked at the Export and Import Bank of China (Exim Bank) ever since the beginning of its operation in 1994. The Bank is very much involved in the business of providing loans to Chinese companies to invest abroad, as well as undertaking big construction contracts and exporting machinery goods. During that time, I accumulated lots of networks among big Chinese State-Owned Enterprises and big Chinese private companies that were engaged in China's "Go Global" businesses. When Mandarin Capital Partners was set up in 2007, my managing partner, Alberto Forchielli, asked Exim Bank to provide the best support in terms of talent to support the fund's business in China. I was picked by the Exim Bank's management to work at Mandarin, and that's how I started doing private equity. Q: In way of background, Exim Bank is one of three major investors in Mandarin's first fund. The other two being China Development Bank and the second largest Italian bank, Intesa San Paolo? A: Yes, they were the three cornerstone investors and each provided EURO 75 million in the fund. At the end of 2007, we raised EURO 328 million in total. Q: From my previous conversation with Alberto Forchielli, Mandarin Capital's strategy, as I understand it, is to invest in China-Europe cross border deals, helping Chinese companies to expand in Europe and European companies to explore the Chinese markets? A: Exactly. To be more specific, we invest in Chinese companies, and then help them to expand in Europe through mergers and acquisitions, or finding strategic partners. Vice versa, we invest in European companies, and help them expand in China through M&A, building a joint venture or investing in green field investments. We see strong synergies between such team-up.

In this episode of China Money Podcast, guest Jenny Gao, managing partner of Mandarin Capital, talks about how her fund helped an Italian company to penetrate the Chinese market, and why she is betting on the future of China's Dagong Global Credit Rating's future in Europe. Listen to the full interview in the audio podcast, watch an abbreviated video version, or read an excerpt. Q: You are only the second female guest on our program's one-and-half-year history. So let's start with your personal career. You initially worked at one of China's three policy banks, the Export and Import Bank of China. How did you get into the private equity industry? A: I worked at the Export and Import Bank of China (Exim Bank) ever since the beginning of its operation in 1994. The Bank is very much involved in the business of providing loans to Chinese companies to invest abroad, as well as undertaking big construction contracts and exporting machinery goods. During that time, I accumulated lots of networks among big Chinese State-Owned Enterprises and big Chinese private companies that were engaged in China's "Go Global" businesses. When Mandarin Capital Partners was set up in 2007, my managing partner, Alberto Forchielli, asked Exim Bank to provide the best support in terms of talent to support the fund's business in China. I was picked by the Exim Bank's management to work at Mandarin, and that's how I started doing private equity. Q: In way of background, Exim Bank is one of three major investors in Mandarin's first fund. The other two being China Development Bank and the second largest Italian bank, Intesa San Paolo? A: Yes, they were the three cornerstone investors and each provided EURO 75 million in the fund. At the end of 2007, we raised EURO 328 million in total. Q: From my previous conversation with Alberto Forchielli, Mandarin Capital's strategy, as I understand it, is to invest in China-Europe cross border deals, helping Chinese companies to expand in Europe and European companies to explore the Chinese markets? A: Exactly. To be more specific, we invest in Chinese companies, and then help them to expand in Europe through mergers and acquisitions, or finding strategic partners. Vice versa, we invest in European companies, and help them expand in China through M&A, building a joint venture or investing in green field investments. We see strong synergies between such team-up.

In this episode of China Money Network, guest André Loesekrug‐Pietri, founder of A Capital, explains why his fund's China-Europe cross-border strategy will thrive even in the current world economic malaise, how did he become attracted to the Chinese markets, and why his new fund was able to secure two star institutional investors. Listen to the full interview in the audio podcast, watch an abbreviated video version, or read an excerpt. Q: First, a brief introduction of A Capital? A: We are a European growth capital fund focused on investing in European companies that have strong growth potentials in China. Once we make the decision to invest in (a European company), we bring a Chinese strategic co-investor that has the resources and expertise to make this European company succeed in China. Q: You have both a Euro fund and a RMB fund. The Euro fund has a target size of €250 million. How much have you raised so far? A: We have raised a significant amount of that. Our fund is relatively new, just a bit over a year old and we've done two deals so far. Several months ago, we had our first closing with two major investors, one from China and the other one from Europe. Q: These are the Belgian Federal Holdings and China Investment Corporations? A: Yes, both of them invested in our Luxemburg fund. Our fund is actually a regulated fund, even thought only funds with over €500 million are required to be regulated in Europe. We decided to be regulated by the Luxemburg Financial Authority because of the quality of our investors. We have a second, RMB fund that we have set up in cooperation with the Beijing Municipal government, specifically, Beijing's Office of Financial Works. The fund is unique in that it is allowed to raise money in RMB in China and invest overseas. The two funds invest in complete parallel terms. The RMB fund is a tool for us to allow Chinese LPs to invest overseas through our vehicle.

In this episode of China Money Podcast, guest André Loesekrug‐Pietri, founder of A Capital, explains why his fund's China-Europe cross-border strategy will thrive even in the current world economic malaise, how did he become attracted to the Chinese markets, and why his new fund was able to secure two star institutional investors. Listen to the full interview in the audio podcast, watch an abbreviated video version, or read an excerpt. Q: First, a brief introduction of A Capital? A: We are a European growth capital fund focused on investing in European companies that have strong growth potentials in China. Once we make the decision to invest in (a European company), we bring a Chinese strategic co-investor that has the resources and expertise to make this European company succeed in China. Q: You have both a Euro fund and a RMB fund. The Euro fund has a target size of €250 million. How much have you raised so far? A: We have raised a significant amount of that. Our fund is relatively new, just a bit over a year old and we've done two deals so far. Several months ago, we had our first closing with two major investors, one from China and the other one from Europe. Q: These are the Belgian Federal Holdings and China Investment Corporations? A: Yes, both of them invested in our Luxemburg fund. Our fund is actually a regulated fund, even thought only funds with over €500 million are required to be regulated in Europe. We decided to be regulated by the Luxemburg Financial Authority because of the quality of our investors. We have a second, RMB fund that we have set up in cooperation with the Beijing Municipal government, specifically, Beijing's Office of Financial Works. The fund is unique in that it is allowed to raise money in RMB in China and invest overseas. The two funds invest in complete parallel terms. The RMB fund is a tool for us to allow Chinese LPs to invest overseas through our vehicle.

In this episode of China Money Network, guest Yukon Huang, senior associate at Washington D.C.-based Carnegie Endowment and former World Bank China director, shares his observations on China's next leadership, the possibilities of any bold reforms and the Chinese economy's long-term trend in the coming decade. Listen to the full interview in the audio podcast, watch the shortened video version or read an excerpt. INTERVIEW EXCERPT Q: China's economy has been growing at an average of over 10% for the past twenty years. No economy can grow that fast forever. Third quarter GDP was out at 7.4%. Do you think the turning point has finally arrived? A: Over twenty years, China has actually never grown lower than 7.8% for the annual basis. So it's very likely that, of course, this year's growth is likely to be lower than anything that has been experienced over the last two decades. But over the last month, there are some positive signs. Investment seems to be responding, or picking up. Retail sales is a little bit better. The export picture improved a little bit. So, some would guess, and I think it's probably true, that some time over the next month or two, the economy will bottom out, and will actually turn upwards. But even a rebound will probably not lead to GDP growth next year much higher than 8%, because the global environment is still lackluster. Q: Does that mean China is going to enter a phase where lower economic growth is the norm? A: China's economy is a maturing economy, a middle-income economy. It's going to move to upper middle-income (economy). Ten or fifteen years from now, China will enter what you would call high-income (economy). You don't find high-income economies growing at 10%, or even 8%. A 5% or 6% is actually a very strong performance. Why should China want to grow at a higher rate? Ten years ago, China wanted to grow at 9% or 10% because it had a major employment concern. But China today is quite different. It's an aging society. The labor force is already shrinking. So China doesn't need to grow very fast to generate jobs, but to create better-paying jobs with higher value. So now, it is the quality of the growth that matters, not the quantity........ Yukon Huang is senior associate at Washington D.C.-based think tank, Carnegie Endowment, where he researches on China's economic development and its impact on Asia and the global economy. He has a rich and long history studying the Chinese economy and policy issues, having served as the World Bank's China director from 1997 to 2004. Previously, he worked at the U.S. Treasury. Mr. Huang holds a B.A. from Yale University and a M.A. and Ph.D. from Princeton.

In this episode of China Money Podcast, guest Yukon Huang, senior associate at Washington D.C.-based Carnegie Endowment and former World Bank China director, shares his observations on China's next leadership, the possibilities of any bold reforms and the Chinese economy's long-term trend in the coming decade. Listen to the full interview in the audio podcast, watch the shortened video version or read an excerpt. INTERVIEW EXCERPT Q: China's economy has been growing at an average of over 10% for the past twenty years. No economy can grow that fast forever. Third quarter GDP was out at 7.4%. Do you think the turning point has finally arrived? A: Over twenty years, China has actually never grown lower than 7.8% for the annual basis. So it's very likely that, of course, this year's growth is likely to be lower than anything that has been experienced over the last two decades. But over the last month, there are some positive signs. Investment seems to be responding, or picking up. Retail sales is a little bit better. The export picture improved a little bit. So, some would guess, and I think it's probably true, that some time over the next month or two, the economy will bottom out, and will actually turn upwards. But even a rebound will probably not lead to GDP growth next year much higher than 8%, because the global environment is still lackluster. Q: Does that mean China is going to enter a phase where lower economic growth is the norm? A: China's economy is a maturing economy, a middle-income economy. It's going to move to upper middle-income (economy). Ten or fifteen years from now, China will enter what you would call high-income (economy). You don't find high-income economies growing at 10%, or even 8%. A 5% or 6% is actually a very strong performance. Why should China want to grow at a higher rate? Ten years ago, China wanted to grow at 9% or 10% because it had a major employment concern. But China today is quite different. It's an aging society. The labor force is already shrinking. So China doesn't need to grow very fast to generate jobs, but to create better-paying jobs with higher value. So now, it is the quality of the growth that matters, not the quantity........ Yukon Huang is senior associate at Washington D.C.-based think tank, Carnegie Endowment, where he researches on China's economic development and its impact on Asia and the global economy. He has a rich and long history studying the Chinese economy and policy issues, having served as the World Bank's China director from 1997 to 2004. Previously, he worked at the U.S. Treasury. Mr. Huang holds a B.A. from Yale University and a M.A. and Ph.D. from Princeton.

http://www.ChinaMoneyNetwork.com In this episode of China Money Network, guest Thomas Hugger, CFO of Leopard Capital, a private equity firm focused on investing in Asian frontier markets, discusses the successes and failures of his firm's investments in Cambodia, the impact on frontier markets from a slowing Chinese economy, and why frontier markets offer better risk-return profiles than emerging markets. Listen to the full interview in the audio podcast, watch the shortened video version or read an excerpt. INTERVIEW EXCERPT Q: First give us a brief introduction of Leopard Capital? A: Leopard Capital was founded in 2008. Our general goal is to make private equity investments in frontier markets. We've raised two funds so far. In March 2008, we raised our first private equity fund to invest in Cambodia. Another fund was raised to invest in Haiti. We are hoping to launch two additional funds to invest in Bangladesh and Bhutan this year. Q: How much capital do you have in these funds? A: The Cambodia fund has $34 million. The Haiti fund has $20 million. For Leopard Asia Frontier Fund, we start with money from family and friends, and we are going on road shows to raise more money. At the moment, we are at $2 million. Q: There is certainly lots of interest in frontier markets now. When you talk to potential investors, what's the biggest concern that they have? A: Their biggest concern is liquidity and execution of investments. Their question is: Are these countries ready for private equity investments? We try to tell them that it's possible to make private equity investments in these markets. For our Cambodia fund, we are in our fourth year. We are fully invested and had two exits. So we are convinced that it's possible. Q: Can you share one or two investments you made that didn't turn out as expected, and the lessons you learned from them? A: We invested in a shrimp processing company in Cambodia. Our partners were foreigners, not local Cambodians. We came in when the factory was just started. We expected it to be a passive investment and we had one seat on the board. Unfortunately, we became much more involved. The company didn't make money according to the business plan. The problem was not that we didn't have enough clients. We had a lot of interest from international purchasing of processed shrimp. The problem was on the supply side. In Cambodia, there are no shrimp farms. The company's specialty was wild-caught shrimp. We knew the catches of shrimp in the sea are volatile. We had estimates, but we weren't able to secure enough supply of wild shrimp. We put more capital into the factory, but had to close down the production in the end.......for complete post, please go to http://www.chinamoneynetwork.com Thomas Hugger is CFO of Leopard Capital, a private equity firm focused on investing in frontier markets, particularly Asian frontier markets including Cambodia, Bangladesh, Laos, Vietnam, and others. Hugger spent 27 years in private banking, most recently as managing director at LGT Bank in Hong Kong. Earlier, he worked at LGT Bank in Zurich and Bank Julius Baer in Zurich and Hong Kong.

http://www.ChinaMoneyPodcast.com In this episode of China Money Podcast, guest Thomas Hugger, CFO of Leopard Capital, a private equity firm focused on investing in Asian frontier markets, discusses the successes and failures of his firm's investments in Cambodia, the impact on frontier markets from a slowing Chinese economy, and why frontier markets offer better risk-return profiles than emerging markets. Listen to the full interview in the audio podcast, watch the shortened video version or read an excerpt. INTERVIEW EXCERPT Q: First give us a brief introduction of Leopard Capital? A: Leopard Capital was founded in 2008. Our general goal is to make private equity investments in frontier markets. We've raised two funds so far. In March 2008, we raised our first private equity fund to invest in Cambodia. Another fund was raised to invest in Haiti. We are hoping to launch two additional funds to invest in Bangladesh and Bhutan this year. Q: How much capital do you have in these funds? A: The Cambodia fund has $34 million. The Haiti fund has $20 million. For Leopard Asia Frontier Fund, we start with money from family and friends, and we are going on road shows to raise more money. At the moment, we are at $2 million. Q: There is certainly lots of interest in frontier markets now. When you talk to potential investors, what's the biggest concern that they have? A: Their biggest concern is liquidity and execution of investments. Their question is: Are these countries ready for private equity investments? We try to tell them that it's possible to make private equity investments in these markets. For our Cambodia fund, we are in our fourth year. We are fully invested and had two exits. So we are convinced that it's possible. Q: Can you share one or two investments you made that didn't turn out as expected, and the lessons you learned from them? A: We invested in a shrimp processing company in Cambodia. Our partners were foreigners, not local Cambodians. We came in when the factory was just started. We expected it to be a passive investment and we had one seat on the board. Unfortunately, we became much more involved. The company didn't make money according to the business plan. The problem was not that we didn't have enough clients. We had a lot of interest from international purchasing of processed shrimp. The problem was on the supply side. In Cambodia, there are no shrimp farms. The company's specialty was wild-caught shrimp. We knew the catches of shrimp in the sea are volatile. We had estimates, but we weren't able to secure enough supply of wild shrimp. We put more capital into the factory, but had to close down the production in the end.......for complete post, please go to http://www.chinamoneypodcast.com Thomas Hugger is CFO of Leopard Capital, a private equity firm focused on investing in frontier markets, particularly Asian frontier markets including Cambodia, Bangladesh, Laos, Vietnam, and others. Hugger spent 27 years in private banking, most recently as managing director at LGT Bank in Hong Kong. Earlier, he worked at LGT Bank in Zurich and Bank Julius Baer in Zurich and Hong Kong.

In this episode of China Money Podcast, guest David Pierce, CEO of Squadron Capital, a Fund of Funds manager with over $1 billion-under-management, talks about China's private equity industry in a slowing economy, lessons he learned from investments that have gone wrong, and why his firm doesn't want to become a QFLP (Qualified Foreign Limited Partner) yet. Listen to the full interview in the audio podcast, watch the shortened video version or read an excerpt. INTERVIEW EXCERPTS: Q: First give us a brief intro of Squadron Capital? A: We are a boutique fund of funds manager, focused on private equity funds principally in the Asia Pacific region. We also have a separate account program that includes the private equity portfolio of our sponsor, The Research Investment Group, which is the family investment office of Mr. Robert Miller, a co-founder of the Duty Free Shoppers. Q: You have been in the industry for a long time, so where do you think the PE industry in China is right now, and where is it headed, particularly considering the slowing economy? A: Right now, there are a lot of uncertainties in the world, with China's economy slowing and troubles in Europe and the U.S. All these make investors and companies more cautious. China's private equity industry has also gone from the go-go period into a period of more reflection. Right now, people are thinking to themselves: Let's think about (our strategies) more carefully. Let's focus on how to create value for the long-term. Q: Give us some examples when you backed a private equity firm, but the result didn't turn out as expected. And, what lessons did you learn from them? A: Some of our investments have been disappointing in their ability to pursue the strategy they set out to pursue. It might not have anything to do with their own fault, but because of causes outside of their control. For example, one of our fund managers had one of their senior members tragically killed in an accident. One of the things that we learned is that these are relatively small operations. A fund generally relies on three or four people to make the fund successful. When you choose to invest in a smaller fund, the key people are very important. We have also been disappointed by the willingness of some members of the key team to stick it through. Again, it's a judgment we make. We've learned a lot about what motivates people. We are careful with our due diligence process to make sure the alignment of interests are there. We also focus on the chemistry of the team. In one case, two key people of the fund had personality clashes and became irreconcilable over time. In the end, one person left the fund. We as investors were anxious about their ability to succeed with a diminished team. So one thing I advise people when looking at smaller private equity funds is to try to deeply understand the team, the dynamics between the team members and the alignment of interests among the team members. A lot of the funds are quite new, so there isn't a rich history or track record to rely on. ............ David Pierce is CEO of Squadron Capital, a fund of funds manager focused on the Asia Pacific region with over $1 billion under management. Previously, David was a partner at an international law firm in Shanghai and a managing director of a China-focused private equity firm. Pierce has rich experience in Asia, having first moved to the region in 1982, and has been based at various times in Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Taipei and Tokyo.

In this episode of China Money Network, guest David Pierce, CEO of Squadron Capital, a Fund of Funds manager with over $1 billion-under-management, talks about China's private equity industry in a slowing economy, lessons he learned from investments that have gone wrong, and why his firm doesn't want to become a QFLP (Qualified Foreign Limited Partner) yet. Listen to the full interview in the audio podcast, watch the shortened video version or read an excerpt. INTERVIEW EXCERPTS: Q: First give us a brief intro of Squadron Capital? A: We are a boutique fund of funds manager, focused on private equity funds principally in the Asia Pacific region. We also have a separate account program that includes the private equity portfolio of our sponsor, The Research Investment Group, which is the family investment office of Mr. Robert Miller, a co-founder of the Duty Free Shoppers. Q: You have been in the industry for a long time, so where do you think the PE industry in China is right now, and where is it headed, particularly considering the slowing economy? A: Right now, there are a lot of uncertainties in the world, with China's economy slowing and troubles in Europe and the U.S. All these make investors and companies more cautious. China's private equity industry has also gone from the go-go period into a period of more reflection. Right now, people are thinking to themselves: Let's think about (our strategies) more carefully. Let's focus on how to create value for the long-term. Q: Give us some examples when you backed a private equity firm, but the result didn't turn out as expected. And, what lessons did you learn from them? A: Some of our investments have been disappointing in their ability to pursue the strategy they set out to pursue. It might not have anything to do with their own fault, but because of causes outside of their control. For example, one of our fund managers had one of their senior members tragically killed in an accident. One of the things that we learned is that these are relatively small operations. A fund generally relies on three or four people to make the fund successful. When you choose to invest in a smaller fund, the key people are very important. We have also been disappointed by the willingness of some members of the key team to stick it through. Again, it's a judgment we make. We've learned a lot about what motivates people. We are careful with our due diligence process to make sure the alignment of interests are there. We also focus on the chemistry of the team. In one case, two key people of the fund had personality clashes and became irreconcilable over time. In the end, one person left the fund. We as investors were anxious about their ability to succeed with a diminished team. So one thing I advise people when looking at smaller private equity funds is to try to deeply understand the team, the dynamics between the team members and the alignment of interests among the team members. A lot of the funds are quite new, so there isn't a rich history or track record to rely on. ............ David Pierce is CEO of Squadron Capital, a fund of funds manager focused on the Asia Pacific region with over $1 billion under management. Previously, David was a partner at an international law firm in Shanghai and a managing director of a China-focused private equity firm. Pierce has rich experience in Asia, having first moved to the region in 1982, and has been based at various times in Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Taipei and Tokyo.

In this episode of China Money Network, guest Fritz Demopoulos, founder of Queen's Road Capital, shares his thoughts on China's Internet sector and entrepreneurship. As founder of two successful Chinese Internet companies, Shawei.com and Qunar.com, Demopoulos is now hoping to capture the next big opportunity in China's Internet evolution by deploying his own capital. Listen to the full interview in the audio podcast, watch the shortened video version or read an excerpt. INTERVIEW EXCERPTS: Q: Last time when we talked, it was five years ago during the early days of your last start-up Qunar.com. This time around, you just founded Queen's Road Capital. What's your strategy and targeted industry? A: It's my personal investment vehicle that I use to invest in early stage companies. I try to focus on media and Internet companies, including consumer Internet, consumer facing models, and e-commerce related companies that are creating market places, that are thinking about how to deliver advertising better and more targeted (products and services) to consumers, as well as mobile consumer opportunities. Q: Any examples of companies that you have invested in? A: I'm an investor in a company called Wodache, a ride-share company. Everyone knows in the major cities of China, there are lots of traffic and it's very difficult to get a taxi. This company helps consumers to share cars through a mobile platform. It provides very strong functional value, so I'm very excited about it. Q: You were a successful entrepreneur before. Now you are an investor. Does the change of role make you think differently when looking at a start-up? A: Many investors are entrepreneurs and many entrepreneurs are investors. When I was an entrepreneur, I was always thinking about investing, and vice versa. So it's a constantly revolving door. Q: For those areas that you mentioned previously as places you look at intensely for investments, what specific elements do you try to find in a start-up that can lead to success? A: At least for me, the last thing I want to do is be where everyone else is. I always wanted to be the first within a category. You can't underestimate the value and advantage that a first-mover has. The team and concept is just a little bit down the learning curve than everyone else. Secondly, the team has to be completely focused on what they do. We need to see that the management teams and founders have skin in the game. Have they invested their own money? Have they given up other opportunities? Have they convinced their families and friends to invest? Thirdly, it's important that the founding teams understand their limitations. If they understand what they do well and what you are not good at, then they can simply hire the missing pieces. In terms of technology, clearly we live in a mobile world. Very rapidly, we are seeing the rise of mobile commerce, e-commerce, real transactions happening online, not just an order entry but proper payment processing all the way up to fulfillment. It is all about being able to present great product information to consumers in innovative ways that meets their specific needs. That entire chain is undergoing a significant revolution, especially with mobile and social media elements. Fritz Demopoulos is founder of Queen's Road Capital. He previously co-founded Chinese sports portal Shawei.com, and sold the company to Tom.com for $20 million in 2000. Then he founded Qunar.com, a travel search engine portal backed by venture capital firms including Mayfield, Tenaya, GSR and Granite Global. Qunar sold an estimated 60% stake to Baidu for $306 million in July 2011.

In this episode of China Money Podcast, guest Fritz Demopoulos, founder of Queen's Road Capital, shares his thoughts on China's Internet sector and entrepreneurship. As founder of two successful Chinese Internet companies, Shawei.com and Qunar.com, Demopoulos is now hoping to capture the next big opportunity in China's Internet evolution by deploying his own capital. Listen to the full interview in the audio podcast, watch the shortened video version or read an excerpt. INTERVIEW EXCERPTS: Q: Last time when we talked, it was five years ago during the early days of your last start-up Qunar.com. This time around, you just founded Queen's Road Capital. What's your strategy and targeted industry? A: It's my personal investment vehicle that I use to invest in early stage companies. I try to focus on media and Internet companies, including consumer Internet, consumer facing models, and e-commerce related companies that are creating market places, that are thinking about how to deliver advertising better and more targeted (products and services) to consumers, as well as mobile consumer opportunities. Q: Any examples of companies that you have invested in? A: I'm an investor in a company called Wodache, a ride-share company. Everyone knows in the major cities of China, there are lots of traffic and it's very difficult to get a taxi. This company helps consumers to share cars through a mobile platform. It provides very strong functional value, so I'm very excited about it. Q: You were a successful entrepreneur before. Now you are an investor. Does the change of role make you think differently when looking at a start-up? A: Many investors are entrepreneurs and many entrepreneurs are investors. When I was an entrepreneur, I was always thinking about investing, and vice versa. So it's a constantly revolving door. Q: For those areas that you mentioned previously as places you look at intensely for investments, what specific elements do you try to find in a start-up that can lead to success? A: At least for me, the last thing I want to do is be where everyone else is. I always wanted to be the first within a category. You can't underestimate the value and advantage that a first-mover has. The team and concept is just a little bit down the learning curve than everyone else. Secondly, the team has to be completely focused on what they do. We need to see that the management teams and founders have skin in the game. Have they invested their own money? Have they given up other opportunities? Have they convinced their families and friends to invest? Thirdly, it's important that the founding teams understand their limitations. If they understand what they do well and what you are not good at, then they can simply hire the missing pieces. In terms of technology, clearly we live in a mobile world. Very rapidly, we are seeing the rise of mobile commerce, e-commerce, real transactions happening online, not just an order entry but proper payment processing all the way up to fulfillment. It is all about being able to present great product information to consumers in innovative ways that meets their specific needs. That entire chain is undergoing a significant revolution, especially with mobile and social media elements. Fritz Demopoulos is founder of Queen's Road Capital. He previously co-founded Chinese sports portal Shawei.com, and sold the company to Tom.com for $20 million in 2000. Then he founded Qunar.com, a travel search engine portal backed by venture capital firms including Mayfield, Tenaya, GSR and Granite Global. Qunar sold an estimated 60% stake to Baidu for $306 million in July 2011.