China: Market, Innovation, Capital

Despite the geopolitical tensions, global downturn in tech investments and general economic situation, there are new opportunities arising for companies which want to tap into China as a market, a source of innovation, and a source of capital.

China is long known as a market for foreign companies. Since years however it has ramped up efforts on technological innovation. The government wants to boost its economy and makes technology a crucial part of that. In some areas China is technologically very advanced, in others still needs to catch up with its western counterparts. China still has plenty of capital available, but the sources of capital are changing.

Learning from experiences in the emerging biopharma sector, where foreign companies and investors have benefited a great deal from China as source of innovation and capital, new trends are emerging. These trends are spreading out over different sectors and provide a roadmap for a new strategy for China.

Speakers

Originally from Belgium, Sven Agten has been living and working in China since 2004. He is a seasoned business executive working for SMEs and multinationals, with in-depth experience about business in China. He has published several books about China, all related to China business challenges, trends and opportunities.

Ben Wu is Partner Healthcare at Agio Capital and has close to 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, holding senior executive positions in the Asia Pacific region for multinationals like J&J and Sanofi. He was active in several China originated biopharma companies, and is the founding CEO of Citrine Medicine, a venture capital backed biopharma.

Together they wrote a new comprehensive book about biopharma in China​, recently published at Palgrave MacMillan. Learning from experiences in the emerging biopharma sector, where foreign companies and investors have benefited a great deal from China as source of innovation and capital, new trends are emerging. These trends are spreading out over different sectors and provide a roadmap for a new strategy for China., integrating China as a market, China as a source of innovation, and China as a source of capital.

We'll close this informative session with snacks and Belgian refreshments sponsored by Duvel Moortgat!