Red Herring Asia 2008 is a forum for participants to gain valuable insights from the world's foremost experts in innovation and technology.

Red Herring: Roundtable Topics

VCs'Move on Asia: Too Much Money Is Investment Bubble

Pan-Asian startups are attracting heavy investment from U.S. VCs wanting a position in the country's next Google, YouTube, and Facebook. While investments in U.S. startups are edging lower, American VCs have nearly doubled their stakes in China, pumping $583 million into 47 second-quarter deals versus $296 million in 34 transactions in the first quarter, according to a MoneyTree Report from PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association. With so much money running around, what do entrepreneurs playing in Pan-Asian markets need to know? They should take note that the region could be seeing a VC investment bubble and there may not be enough startups with solid business models to sustain such funding.

Asian IPO Market: The Grass Is Greener

U.S. investors are eyeing Asia for obvious reason: There?s still a possible exit strategy in the form of IPOs. Unlike the United States, whose markets witnessed a shutdown of venture-backed initial public offerings in the second quarter, Asia saw some big IPOs, as this part of the world continues to grow. U.S. IPOs dropped 80 percent, from 56 offerings last year to just 11, while the number of IPOs in North Asia, excluding Japan, toppled only 37 percent, from 59 to 37. China saw 10 companies debut on the public markets. Big deals included a $2.5 billion deal from China Railway Construction in May and a $2.6 billion deal from Indian power company Reliance Power in January. Thomson Reuters expects about 243 companies to seek listings in Asia in the second half, raising more than $100 billion. But what are pre-IPO companies forged in Asian up against in this highly competitive marketplace? What are some of the successful business models adopted in Asia?s burgeoning business regions? What kind of opportunities are on the horizon of the Asian market for investors? Asian entrepreneurs and investors will shed light on some of the hot pre-IPO companies of Asia and what unique challenges they face.