Oriza Holdings

Suzhou Oriza Holdings Corporation

Native name	蘇州元禾控股股份有限公司
Formerly	China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park Ventures Suzhou Venture Group
Company type	State-owned enterprise
Industry	Investment management
Founded	28 November 2001; 23 years ago (2001-11-28)
Headquarters	Suzhou, Jiangsu, China
Key people	Liu Chengwei (Chairman)
Products	Venture Capital Private equity Private credit Fund of funds
AUM	US$14 billion (2023)
Owner	Suzhou Industrial Park Administration Committee
Parent	Suzhou Industrial Park Economic Development Co., Ltd (59.98%)
Website	www.oriza.com
Footnotes / references [1][2][3]

Oriza Holdings (Oriza) (Chinese: 元禾控股; pinyin: Yuánhé Kònggǔ) is a Chinese investment firm founded in 2001. The firm is the investment arm of Suzhou Industrial Park. It provides equity and debt financing and seeks to invest in companies based in the technology, healthcare and materials sector. It also has a fund of funds strategy that invests in other venture capital and private equity funds.

Background

Oriza traces its roots back to 1994 when Singapore and China established the Suzhou Industrial Park which is also known as the China–Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park.^[2][4]

On 28 November 2001, China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park Ventures (CSVC) was founded as an investment firm that could funnel capital to the technology startup companies at the park.^[1][2][5][6]

On 28 September 2007, the firm underwent restructuring and the entity known as Suzhou Venture Group (SVG) was formed.^[7][8]

In November 2012, the firm was renamed to Oriza Holdings.^[2][9]

In 2015, the firm set up Oriza Ventures, a Silicon Valley unit that invests in American startup companies.^[10][11]

Although the firm is state-owned it claims that it takes on an entirely market-oriented approach in identifying its investment targets.^[2] While it maintains good relationships with local governments, it will refuse to invest in projects which could jeopardize the firm's reputation.^[2]

Notable deals

Signing ceremony launching Infinity-CSVC China Fund, 22 June 2004

In 2004, the firm partnered with the Infinity Group to establish a joint Israel-China fund of US$15 million known as the Infinity-CSVC China Fund.^[7][12]

In 2008, the firm launched a second joint Israel-China fund of US$300 million known as the Infinity-I China fund.^[7][12][13]

In December 2010, the firm partnered with China Development Bank to launch Guochuang Fund of Funds, a US$9 billion state-backed fund of funds to support China's venture capital and private equity firms.^[2][14][15]

In 2013, a consortium that included, Oriza, CITIC Capital and China Merchants Group acquired a 24.5% stake in SF Express for 8 billion RMB.^[2][16] After SF express went had a large initial public offering in 2017, it was estimated that Oriza could have obtained a 10 times gain.^[2][17]

In November 2015, Oriza, Tencent and Alibaba Group contributed US1.6 billion to CMC Holdings, an investment platform launched by Li Ruigang and his firm China Media Capital.^[2][18] In December 2015, CMC holdings would acquire a 13% stake in City Football Group, the owner of Manchester City F.C. for US$400 million giving Oriza a stake of the club.^[2][19]

In October 2020, Oriza and CDH Investments purchased US$219 million worth of CSI Solar shares from its parent, Canadian Solar so CSI Solar could qualify for a planned carve out initial public offering in China.^[20]

In 2022, it was reported that the China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund known as the "Big Fund" had invested into Oriza.^[21][22] The fund was under investigation for suspected corruption and bribery.^[21][22]

References

1. "Oriza Holdings Investor Profile: Portfolio & Exits | PitchBook". pitchbook.com. Archived from the original on 30 March 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
2. "Rich pickings |". Week in China. 17 March 2017. Archived from the original on 30 March 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
3. "SUBSTANTIAL SHAREHOLDERS" (PDF). HKEX. Archived (PDF) from the original on 31 March 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
4. Migration (25 October 2014). "Suzhou Industrial Park: 10 things to know about the China-Singapore project | The Straits Times". www.straitstimes.com. Archived from the original on 2 September 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
5. "Suzhou Venture Group Celebrates 10th Anniversary_Top stories". www.sipac.gov.cn. Archived from the original on 31 March 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
6. "An Overview of SIP Technological Development". www.sipac.gov.cn. 14 February 2009. Archived from the original on 31 March 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
7. Weinstock, Suzanne (5 January 2013). "Infinity invests $20m in gaming company for Chinese expansion". Private Equity International. Archived from the original on 31 March 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
8. "Government Approves a RMB500 Million Investment from Suzhou Ventures Group into Digital China IT Services - PR Newswire APAC". en.prnasia.com. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
9. "Oriza Holdings Holds Inauguration Ceremony_Suzhou Industrial Park". www.sipac.gov.cn. Archived from the original on 31 March 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
10. "Oriza Holdings rises to prominence with overseas projects_Suzhou Industrial Park". www.sipac.gov.cn. Archived from the original on 31 March 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
11. "RPT-INSIGHT-China's penetration of Silicon Valley creates risks for startups". Reuters. 29 June 2018. Archived from the original on 31 March 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
12. EETimes (14 January 2008). "Israeli-Chinese VC fund edges closer to $350 million". EE Times. Archived from the original on 31 March 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
13. "Israel's Infinity launches six China yuan funds". Reuters. 9 March 2010. Archived from the original on 31 March 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
14. "China's CDB Capital Raises $1.4 Billion for Private Equity Fund". Bloomberg.com. 20 April 2012. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
15. "CDB Capital to launch $9 bln PE, venture capital fund". Reuters. 20 December 2010. Archived from the original on 31 March 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
16. Tudor-Ackroyd, Alison. "Chinese consortium buys S.F. Express stake | citic capital". FinanceAsia. Archived from the original on 31 March 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
17. "SF Express Delivers Turbocharged IPO - Caixin Global". www.caixinglobal.com. Archived from the original on 31 March 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
18. Liu, Winnie (2 November 2015). "Oriza, Tencent, Alibaba join CMC investment platform | AVCJ". AVCJ. Archived from the original on 31 March 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
19. Jackson, Jamie (1 December 2015). "Manchester City owners announce £265m deal with Chinese investors". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 31 March 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
20. "China's CDH, Oriza back carve-out IPO of Canadian Solar's subsidiary". DealStreetAsia. Archived from the original on 31 March 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
21. Global, Caixin (12 August 2022). "Five things to know about China's scandal-struck chip industry 'Big Fund'". ThinkChina - Big reads, Opinion & Columns on China. Archived from the original on 1 April 2023. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
22. Auto, Hermes (8 August 2022). "Graft scandal casts long shadow over China's chipmaking ambitions | The Straits Times". www.straitstimes.com. Archived from the original on 1 April 2023. Retrieved 1 April 2023.

External links

• Official website