American Private Equity Giant Warns Western Investors Underestimated China, Missing Excellent Investment Opportunities

While some Western media still indulge in the narrative of "souring China," real global investors have already seen the opportunities. William Ford, Chairman and CEO of the American private equity investment giant Atlantic Capital, emphasized that Western investors underestimated China, leading to missing out on excellent investment opportunities.

According to a November 10 report by Hong Kong's South China Morning Post, Ford was interviewed during his participation in the 2025 Family Business Summit in Hong Kong. He stated that Western investors underestimated China's innovation capability, entrepreneurial spirit, and economic momentum, avoiding the Chinese market due to fear of risks, which caused them to miss "some excellent investment opportunities."

Ford pointed out that a new generation of ambitious Chinese entrepreneurs is rising, with multiple companies in various fields such as industrial automation and medical technology adopting a "from China to the world" development strategy.

"They want to enter the international market and become true global leaders," said Ford, who had just completed a two-week visit to China.

Although there are certain challenges from geopolitical factors, Ford believes that the easing of U.S.-China relations and the recovery of the Hong Kong stock market have brought new opportunities for investment. He stated that the two countries have recently discussed issues such as trade tariffs, soybean purchases, and rare earth exports, and bilateral relations have shown positive turning points, "I think that U.S.-China relations have reached a new balance."

Ford openly stated, "As the Hong Kong market becomes active again, investing here will become extremely attractive."

The South China Morning Post introduced that after several years of stagnation, the Hong Kong capital market began to recover from the end of last year. Companies such as Midea Group, a home appliance giant, and Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL), the world's largest battery manufacturer, have chosen to raise funds in Hong Kong. In the first half of this year, Hong Kong once again topped the global initial public offering (IPO) market, with 42 companies listed and raising 107.1 billion Hong Kong dollars.

Atlantic Capital was founded in New York in 1980. Since entering the Chinese market in 2000, it has invested about 8 billion U.S. dollars in more than 40 companies including Lenovo Group and Meituan. The Chinese business accounts for 10% to 15% of the company's global investment portfolio, reaching as high as 20% at its peak.

Ford revealed that the company had slowed down its investment pace in China in recent years, waiting for greater certainty in U.S.-China relations. At the same time, Ford pointed out that the global capital market is also experiencing a "exit recession," meaning limited channels for investment exits, but he believes this situation has reversed.

The report mentioned that since 2023, Chinese regulatory authorities have accelerated the approval process for enterprises going public overseas, and corporate mergers and acquisitions have also shown growth. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers' prediction, the scale of related transactions will achieve double-digit high growth this year.

Data from the Ministry of Commerce of China show that from January to September this year, a total of 48,921 new foreign-funded enterprises were established nationwide, an increase of 16.2% compared to the same period last year; the actual use of foreign capital reached 573.75 billion yuan, a decrease of 10.4% compared to the same period last year. Notably, the actual use of foreign capital in September increased by 11.2% year-on-year, indicating an improvement in the trend of capital inflow.

This reflects the structural differentiation trend of foreign direct investment (FDI) in China. Although the total amount of actual use of foreign capital has declined, the number of newly established foreign-funded enterprises has significantly increased, with high-tech industries becoming a prominent highlight.

"We can now be sure that if you find an excellent company in China, there will be good opportunities to go public in Hong Kong," Ford shared. Atlantic Capital is optimistic about the potential of China in areas such as industrial automation, consumer electronics, and life sciences. They invested in WuXi Biologics, a drug R&D and service company, as early as 2006, and have continuously increased their investment in the biopharmaceutical field since 2021. "China has entered a new stage and has truly become a leader in therapeutic innovation."

Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1848402420539396/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.