Join us at the AVCJ Private Equity and Venture Forum 2011, Dec 1-2, Mumbai (India)

Hello,

Incisive Media (http://www.incisivemedia.com/) will host the “Asian Venture Capital Journal Private Equity and Venture Forum 2011” on December 1-2, 2011 at JW Marriott, Mumbai. SustainAsia is one of the supporting organizations.

SustainAsia’s members, associates and partners are entitled to a 20% off on the standard registration fee [please quote the VIP code “SAEM1” when you register]. For details and enrolment, please see the message below. You can find information on the event at http://www.avcjindia.com/

I will be moderating a Cleantech session on day two (Friday 2nd December at 12:15) of the AVCJ conference in Mumbai: If you are interested in attending this event, please enrol with the organizer directly:

Growing interest and opportunities for investing in clean technology and renewable energy
Factors such as increasing population, rising oil prices and mounting concern over carbon emissions have led to growing interest in investment opportunities in clean-tech companies among Indian investors. Venture capital and private equity funds invested $816 million in 32 green firms in fiscal year 2011 as favourable changes in regulations and tax incentives and the introduction of government initiatives to promote green energy raised interest in the sector. But despite the current buzz and notion that this is a largely untapped market, investors are finding backing of clean technology or renewable energy companies a dogged quest as the dearth of sound opportunities makes good deals few and far between. Companies in this cluster are not scaling up or maturing fast enough to absorb large amounts of capital and offer returns. Experienced ‘green’ investors will debate the following:

• What option makes sense for PE investment: companies that adopt technologies or models and implement them locally, such as hydro-power generation or smaller tech innovation deals?
• Can the Indian intellectual property regime protect the interests of overseas partners and is this a concern for limited partners?
• In a market swamped with clean tech ‘flavour of the month’ investment opportunities, what processes can you employ to cut through the bad investments and find the real deal?

For inquiry, please contact Anil Nathani:

Tel: +852 3411 4938 or E-Mail: Anil.Nathani@incisivemedia.com

See you soon in Mumbai.

With best regards,
Nitin Verma
India Representative

SustainAsia Ltd

Asia Water Fund

http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/4/19/business/8507901&sec=business

We, at Spans, feel that this is a great development for the Asian water sector. The Asian water sector requires huge investments and private operational expertise. Such funds would greatly help in enabling the adoption of improved/advanced technologies and better water management practices.

We believe that sooner or later India too would require a similar dedicated water fund. Currently the Indian water market is highly fragmented with very few deal opportunities. However, we feel that a trend is emerging where smaller indigenous firms are partnering with international companies to create sustainable solutions that would work in the Indian setup.

In this light, I would like to add that currently Spans is also looking for strategic and financial partners who like us are passionate about water and also believe in the business opportunities in the water sector. Let us talk if you think we share a common goal!

Article: Few potential cleantech targets for PE investments in India

Investors In India Like Clean Tech, But Find Few Deals

(Article from WSJ, May 2011)

http://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2011/05/02/investors-in-india-like-clean-tech-but-find-few-deals/