Summary: 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.
