The relationship between Latin America and China intensified over the past three months. Tencent invested US$180M in Nubank, Ant Financial invested millions in Stone Co’s IPO, and Beijing agreed to swap over US$18B in yuan for Argentine pesos. China’s relationship with Chile has grown, as well, as the Magma Partners China office has spoken at monthly events about investment in Latin America. During the past three months, Magma China co-hosted a seminar during a visit from Roberto Ampuero, Chile’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and presented at two significant events to increase people’s awareness of Latin America as an investment destination. Here’s how Magma has promoted Sino-Latin American investment in three events over the past three months.
Roberto Ampuero, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Chile, visited China after being invited by China’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yi Wang. During his three day trip, Mr. Ampuero presented during a seminar entitled “Chile, the Latin-American Center of Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital” at Kr Space’s Zhongguancun Community at Beijing. Magma Partners collaborated with ProChile and Kr Space to co-host the event and generate more awareness of Chile in China. The event also included a presentation from Chris Martin, Vice President of Mobike’s International Expansion Department, who explained why Mobike is interested in LatAm and why they picked Santiago as Mobike’s first Latin American destination. Mobike has just landed at Chile this year and is planning to expand to other countries in the region over the next couple of years.Chile’s stable economy and business-friendly government make it an interesting destination for Chinese investors. As Ampuero stated at the event, “Chinese enterprises are welcome to come to Latin America. Chile can offer varied talents. We encourage people to invest in Chile, to start a business here, and to talk to our younger generations to get to know the country better. Thus we build a bridge between Chile and China.”
On Oct.30, The China-Latin America and Caribbean Investment Exchange (CLACIE), hosted their annual conference in Beijing, China, sponsored by IDB. This invite-only event gathered 125 people who are involved in the China-LatAm investment relationship who would discuss Chinese-Latin American cooperation across several industries.. Jie Hao, Magma’s Chinese partner, presented at the tech forum as a panel speaker and shared his insights on the emerging LatAm tech ecosystem as a Chinese investor. “Early-stage startups from Latin America are unlikely to find funding in China, even if they visit many times, if all they do is do roadshows, so far Chinese funds have invested into companies in their B, or C round, with early stage being out of scope”
Two days later, on November 1st, the 4th Chile Week officially kicked off in Beijing. InvestChile organizes this event once yearly to promote understanding of Chile in China. The event unites big names from Chile to present before a Chinese audience; Former President Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle spoke alongside Chilean Ambassador to China, Luis Schmidt, Chinese Ambassador to Chile, Bu Xu, and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Roberto Ampuero. Jie once again spoke on a panel about the tech and financial connections between China and Chile. During Chile Week, Chile officially signed and joined the Belt & Road initiative, China’s development strategy meant to boost multilateral connections, trade, and investments. According to InvestChile, this strategic connection positions Chile as the main hub for Chinese companies operating in LatAm and offers financial backup services to companies of both countries that assists with creating stronger tech innovation.
Recently, the ties between China and LatAm have been growing stronger. Unlike in the past, not just the construction industry is receiving backing from the Chinese government. China’s private investors and companies have begun backing Latin American startups. China’s startups see Latin America as a potential market for their fintech solutions. The two regions grow closer with each coming month. Our partner, Jie Hao believes there is a significant opportunity for Latin American entrepreneurs to visit China to learn about the Chinese startup ecosystem and see if they can apply the Chinese innovation experience to Latin America. “Chinese startups are already far advanced and under extreme competition. Latin America entrepreneurs will learn the best business models, the best technology, how their peers can survive in China, how to raise funds etc.”Early this year, Magma Partners partnered with 36Kr and launched the first ever Sino-LatAm accelerator worldwide. So far we have hosted a series of events at embassies of latam countries in Beijing and Kr Spaces as part of our efforts to promote awareness of LatAm in China. We are watching China’s growing interest in Latin America and believe that China will have a strong influence in the region’s startup ecosystem over the next few years..
