China-based Kymco Private Equity Management (Kymco Capital), a managing company for private equity investment funds and privately offered funds, focuses investment in enterprises in the ecosystem of providing mobility services, according to company general manager and managing partner Gary Ding.
The ecosystem consists of six areas: Development and production of electric vehicles (EVs); EV batteries; B2B IoV; B2C mobility services derived from B2B IoV; information and communication technology (ICT); and social networking, Ding said.
Viewing that DiDi Chuxing's app-based car sharing services and bicycle sharing services operated by Mobike and Ofo changed mobility patterns in China, Kymco was motivated to focus investment on busineses operation closely related to mobility services, believing such operators could become unicorns, Ding said.
For electric scooters, Taiwan-based motorcycle maker Kwang Yang Motor (brand name Kymco) is a main shareholder of Kymco Capital and Kwang Yang chairman Allen Ko is also the chairman of the latter, Ding noted.
In the area of B2B IoV, Kymco Capital plans to cooperate with operators of delivery services such as for ordered food and integrate real-time road conditions with digital maps to hike their operational efficiency, Ding indicated. For B2C mobility services, retail stores and restaurants will be target participants, Ding said.
Kymco Capital regards ICT as a key tool for upgrading mobility services and plans to focus on AI and big data analysis, Ding noted. Social networking is in response to development of B2B IoV and B2C mobility services, Ding added.
In the six areas, some enterprise are or will be investors through providing equity capital for Kymco Capital while others are or will be targets of Kymco Capital' investment, and Kymco Capital hopes to play a role of bridge to help them find operating resources, solutions and experimental sites, Ding indicated.
Kymco Capital general manager and managing partner Gary Ding
Photo: Shihmin Fu, Digitimes, April 2020