On the afternoon of November 17th, Mr. Chang SUN, Managing Partner of TPG China, gave a lecture on "Success factors for private equity investors" on UIC campus.

Before Mr. SUN’s speech, Dr. Minyu WU, Programme Director of Finance of Division of Business and Management, gave a welcome speech. Prof. Steve LIU, Dean of Division of Business and Management, presented a souvenir and an appointment letter from the DBM Advisory Committee to Mr. SUN.

Dr. Minyu WU, Programme Director of Finance of Division of Business and Management, gave a welcome speech to Mr. SUN

Prof. Steve LIU, Dean of Division of Business and Management, presented a souvenir to Mr. SUN

Prof. Steve LIU, Dean of Division of Business and Management, presented the appointment letter to Mr. SUN

At the beginning of the lecture, Mr. SUN gave a brief introduction to the origin and development of private equity industry. Mr. SUN pointed out that private equity investment in China has been developing rapidly since 2015. He further explained the reasons for investment from the perspective of wealth industry changes. In early 20th century, the richest in the United States mainly came from oil and energy industries, while today they are mainly from industries dominated by intangible assets (technology, finance, fashion, etc.). Similarly, the source of the richest in China has shifted from real estate to manufacturing industries (electronics, advanced manufacturing, etc.). This shows that the financial industry is getting more attention from the society, and private equity investment is becoming a trend.

Mr. Chang SUN in the lecture

Next, Mr. SUN elaborated the success factors of private equity investors from five dimensions: intuition, judgment, knowledge, experience and problem-solving ability, and summarized the three most important qualities of private equity investors: judgment; timing; and selection. With the examples of Focus Media, 58.com, China Pacific Insurance, Shuanghui Group and Shenzhen Development Bank, Mr. SUN further elaborated the investment appreciation methods in private investment practice, and proposed corresponding investment strategies from different enterprise development stages.

Lecture audiences

Teachers and students enjoyed a good discussion with Mr. SUN during the Q&A.

Q&A session

About Mr. Chang SUN

Mr. SUN is TPG’s Managing Partner for China. Prior to joining TPG, he was chairman and founder of Black Soil Group, an agriculture investment holding company. From 1995 to 2015, Mr. SUN was a partner at Warburg Pincus Asia and served as chairman of Asia Pacific for the firm and a member of the firm’s Executive Management Group. Mr. SUN has also worked as an Executive Director in the Investment Banking Division and the Principal Investment Area of Goldman Sachs (Asia) L.L.C., at Lepercq, de Neuflize & Co as an investment banking associate, and at the United Nations as a translator.

Mr. SUN holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Beijing Foreign Studies University and a joint degree of MA/MBA from the Joseph Lauder Institute of International Management and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Mr. SUN is the founder and current honorary Chairman of the China Venture Capital Association (CVCA) and the founder and current Executive Vice Chairman the China Real Estate Developers and Investors’ Association (CREDIA). He is also a member of the Board of Governors of the Lauder Institute at the Wharton School, and Vice-Chairman of the China Entrepreneurs Club (CEC).