April 1, 2008. Shanghai campus -- The outlook in China for the emerging field of "clean tech," referring to businesses supporting environmental protection and preservation, was the topic of a lively evening panel discussion that attracted a full-house of attendees to the 300-seat CEIBS auditorium.

Entitled "Venture Capital Investments and Exits in the Clean Tech Industry," the event featured six experts in this new sector as speakers and panelists. Organized by CEIBS' Entrepreneurship Club, Finance Club, and Investment & CFA Club, the event was hosted in collaboration with INSEAD 31 VentureLab. Andrew Qian, managing partner for New Access Capital, served as moderator.

Kicking off the panel discussion, keynote speaker international VC expert Professor Martin Haemmig. A senior advisor on Venture Capital at Stanford University with a 20 year teaching and training career that spans the U.S., Europe and Asia, Haemmig spoke on "Globalizing Venture Capital" with an emphasis on the emerging Clean Tech field.

Prof. Haemmig stressed that opportunities run high in the new field of clean tech. According to data from the US-based Clean Tech Index, top performers in this industry tend to out-perform companies in other fields. Among 129 companies surveyed in one of his studies, the average performance expansion, year on year, was 155%. "That means the market is very receptive to clean tech," he said. Among the top performing sectors in the industry in Europe, Prof. Haemmig named: solar energy, fuel cells, and biomass and biofuels.

Following Prof. Haemmig's presentation, moderator Andrew Qian lead a discussion with the event’s four clean tech experts: Horizon fuel Cell Co-founder and VP Taras Wankewycz and Cleantech Group China Country Director James Mahoney and venture capitalists KPCB China Founding Managing Partner Tina Ju and Qiming Venture Partners Founder and Managing Director Gary Rieschel.

Mr. Qian began the discussion by stressing that China' s interest in the clean tech field has expanded so rapidly that the field is now growing at a speed that is “on par” with that of the United States or Europe. "In the past five years in China, we have seen more than a dozen Clean Tech companies emerge," says Qian. "Most have attracted venture capital, and some are even going overseas." With this aggressive growth in mind, Mr. Qian said, the topic of the evening's panel discussion would cover "four buzz words: China, clean tech, VC, and entrepreneurship."

After an introduction to the technologies developed by featured clean tech entrepreneurs Taras Wankewycz and James Mahoney, moderator Andrew Qian asked the two VC panelists which sectors within the industry are most attractive to venture capitalists now.

Bullish Gary Rieschel answered the question by declaring to the audience of CEIBS students, "You should all find jobs in this area." He went on to say that even Prof. Haemmig's very favorable data on the potential for growth in this sector is "understated." Mr. Rieschel said "This is a truly global VC business. Clean tech matters every where - and it matters to the governments everywhere. All governments are either building clean tech systems for the first time or are improving them." He added that the industry is only just beginning its growth cycle. "We are five years into something that is going to last the rest of your life."

VC Tina Ju was also strongly positive about the field's potential, but mentioned several caveats. First, she stressed that clean tech is "not easy to learn," being a new and complex business area. Other challenges include: government regulation, technology risks, and the unpredictability of capital returns. At present, she said her firm is particularly interested in nvesting in renewable energy, especially wind technology, and pollution monitoring such as real-time monitoring tools for air and water pollution.

A full article highlighting the learning points of "Venture Capital Investments and Exits in the Clean Tech Industry" will be published in the Summer 2008 edition of The LINK.