Social Investment Forum 2010

Investing for the 21^st Century – Launch of the Impact Investor Circle

On Tuesday 19 October 2010, Avantage Ventures hosted its inaugural Social Investment Forum at the Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong.

In a world marked by imbalances, former Costa Rica President José María Figueres Olsen opened the forum with the powerful and thought-provoking example of countries where a litre of Coca-Cola costs more than a litre of oil, arguing that forward-thinking investors need to change their investment strategies and “invest in the real economy”, i.e. projects with real social value and strong sustainable development potential.

Frederick Chavalit Tsao, Chairman of IMC Pan Asia Alliance Group, a diversified family-owned conglomerate, made the point that “today’s social enterprises are tomorrow’s big business opportunities,” while Theodore Margellos, Founder and Co-Managing Partner of IJ Partners, reflected on his own success in the grains industry to advocate against speculation and in favour of investments in tangible upstart enterprises.

Over 120 investors from across Asia and Europe had the opportunity to hear about multiple social investment models and the role they can play to create a social capital marketplace in the Asia-Pacific region. With four pioneering social entrepreneurs showcased on the day, the event was geared towards offering real, profitable and scalable solutions to difficult development challenges. The four investment opportunities generated a great deal of interest not only amongst Impact Investor Circle (IIC) Founding Members but also amongst other potential investors, fifteen of which pledged to join the newly launched club.

Videos of all keynote speeches as well as presentations will be available on our website in after. For any additional information on this year’s forum, the IIC or our projects, please contact Wilson Favre-Delerue, our Director of Investment Relations, at wfd@avantageventures.com and +852 3151 7872.