Global venture capital conference to open in Qingdao

The 2019 Global (Qingdao) Venture Capital Conference will be held on May 9-10 in the eastern coastal city of Qingdao, Shandong province. 

The conference will offer numerous networking opportunities and showcase Qingdao's innovative and fast growing venture capital industry as it gathers more than 1,000 venture capitalists, investors, deal makers and other service providers from all around the globe.

The event is organized by the Qingdao municipal government. The list of invited guests shows some big names, including Hong Lei, president of the Asset Management Association of China (AMAC), Qi Bin, vice president of China Investment Corporation, Yu Minhong, co-founder of Hongtai Capital Holdings, Harvey Pitt, the 26th chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Piero Scaruffi, founder of the Silicon Valley Artificial Intelligence Research Institute (SVAIRI), and Sangeet Paul Choudary, a global CXO advisor on platform business models to high growth startups and Fortune 500 companies.

Qingdao will set up a science and innovation fund of funds (FOF) on a scale of tens of billions of RMB designed to support original innovation, achievement transformation and cultivation of high-end technology industrialization projects benchmarked against China's new science and technology innovation board.

Qingdao, a modern metropolis full of vitality and the spirit of innovation, is poised to become a global venture capital center.

The city, which has long been known for its seascape, sailing facilities, and for being the home of Tsingtao Beer, and the white goods giants Haier and Hisense electronics, has joined the "1 trillion yuan club" with annual GDP surpassing 1 trillion yuan.

Qingdao has the industrial foundation to attract international and domestic venture capital, combined with the advantages of marine economy and other emerging industries, said Liu Liyong, founder of Horus Capital.

The city is at the forefront in marine science and technology and home to more than 30 percent of China's universities and research institutes, 50 percent of its researchers and 70 percent of the top experts and academicians in the fields of marine science and technology.

A poster for the 2019 Global (Qingdao) Venture Capital Conference.