ChinaBestIdeasConference.com

2013 China Best Ideas Investment Conference

September 10, 2013
Beijing, China

Pryor Cashman sponsored the 2013 China Best Ideas Investment Conference on September 10, 2013 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beijing. In addition, Elizabeth Fei Chen, partner in Pryor Cashman's China Group, addressed leaders of many public and private Chinese companies on the subject of "A Guide to Going Private: Update on Process, Timeline, Costs and Deal Multiples" at the Capital Markets & Accounting Bootcamp, a pre-conference event, on September 9th. Over 60 public and private Chinese companies were represented at this event.

The 2013 China Best Ideas Investment Conference focused on providing investors with a selection of Chinese public companies listed in the U.S. with strong business models, a commitment to corporate governance, and solid investor transparency.

“China is an important growth market and we look forward to supporting and participating in what promises to be a very productive dialogue about the future of Chinese companies and their participation in the global capital markets,” said Chen.

The China Best Ideas Investment Conferencewas hosted by CCG Investor Relations ("CCG"), a leading global investor relations and strategic communications consultancy, and Marcum Bernstein & Pinchuk ("MBP"), a top-ranking U.S accounting and consulting firm with a substantial China practice. With a selection of small- to large-cap companies in sectors including internet, consumer, healthcare, technology and energy, the China Best Ideas Investment Conference served as a great introduction to investments that are leveraged to China's growth.

On the afternoon of September 9th,CCG and MBP hosted aCapital Markets & Accounting Bootcamp, a pre-conference event,at Beijing Four Seasons that was designed to provide U.S.-listed Chinese companies with a full range of strategic options to finance growth and create value, educate CFOs on the latest accounting and finance issues, and educate private companies about the going public process and market environment.

The conference and the pre-conference event were free to attend for invited company management and for qualified institutional investors.

 

They included a special presentation on the unusual risks present in business models dependent on the internet to generate sales/leads. Rev Sale examined some of the unseen tripwires in relying on digital advertising, search engine optimization, and traditional print & media promotion. A member of the brain trust at TNG/Earthling, he & CEO Bob Sakayama discussed "The Perils Of High Ranks" - what comes after success online. Success breeds competition of all kinds, and the skill set to stay in the game requires strategies to push back on copycats, scammers, hackers, & social media. And then there's the dreaded Google penalty, or more likely a change in Google's algorithm that drops your traffic. It was a crowd pleaser and generated much discussion.

 

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About the 2013 China Best Ideas Investment Conference

Hosted by CCG Investor Relations and Marcum Bernstein & Pinchuk, the 2013 China Best Ideas Investment Conference provided investors with the opportunity to meet with the senior management of Chinese companies that have weathered the storm of economics uncertainty and shown a strong commitment to shareholder value. With a selection of 20 small- to large-cap companies in sectors including consumer, healthcare, technology and specialty industry, this one-day event served as a great introduction to the opportunities to participate in China’s growth. The conference drew over 300 investors including fund managers, private equity, analysts, family offices, investment advisors and high net worth individuals.

CCG Investor Relations and MarcumBP Announces Final Line-up for China Best Ideas Investment Conference, September 10th in Beijing

NEWS PROVIDED BY
CCG Investor Relations , Marcum Bernstein&Pinchuk LLP
Aug 28, 2013

Over 42 companies presenting and meeting with over 150 investors at soon-to-be-sold-out event

NEW YORK, Aug. 28, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- CCG Investor Relations ("CCG"), a leading global investor relations and strategic communications consultancy, and Marcum Bernstein & Pinchuk (MarcumBP), a top-ranking U.S accounting and consulting firm with a substantial China and international practice, today announced the presenting companies, speakers, sponsors, and private companies for 2013 China Best Ideas Investment Conference on Tuesday, September 10th, 2013, at the Four Seasons at 48 LiangMaQiao Road, 100125 Chaoyang District, Beijing

The 2013 China Best Ideas Investment Conference will showcase some of the very best managed Chinese companies that are listed overseas and foster an open and informative dialogue with investors. The event will be co-hosted by CCG Investor Relations ("CCG"), a leading global investor relations and strategic communications consultancy, and Marcum Bernstein & Pinchuk (MarcumBP), a top-ranking U.S accounting and consulting firm with a substantial China and international practice. Over 450 investors, senior management, capital markets experts, and professionals are expected to attend.

In conjunction with the event, the Capital Markets & Accounting Bootcamp at the Four Seasons on September 9 is open to CEOs, Directors, CFOs and other senior management of U.S.-listed or pre-IPO companies with expert advice how to survive and thrive "after the storm." The half-day event will provide an learning opportunity for U.S.-listed Chinese public companies and private companies considering an IPO overseas review a variety of strategic alternatives for listed companies who wish to maximize shareholder value and obtain growth financing.  On September 11, CCG and MarcumBP are providing investors an opportunity to join the China Best Ideas A-Share Company Tour in Beijing of companies listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

"We are pleased with the strong interest in what promises to be a sold-out event," said Crocker Coulson, President of CCG. "Given the enormous structural changes taking place in China's economy today, this is an excellent time for investors to take a fresh look at investment opportunities in the world's second largest economy. We are honored to have some of the leading thinkers about China's macro-economy, corporate governance and accounting among our speakers and we are very pleased with the caliber of the featured companies at this event. We hope that this sparks a constructive dialogue that leads to positive change in making Chinese corporates more attractive and viable as vehicles for global investors.

"We are enthusiastic about the line-up of companies and the caliber of panelists at this conference and it has generated a great degree of interest," said Drew Bernstein, Managing Partner of Marcum BP. "China is undergoing great structural changes and the conference has brought together some of the leading thinkers about the world's second largest economy and how its businesses are run," Bernstein said. "This gathering of business leaders, academics, authors and investors is a great opportunity to raise issues of corporate governance and how to improve the business climate in China."

The list of the featured public companies includes:

• AirMedia Group Inc. (NASDAQ: AMCN)
• Beijing Origin Water Technology Company(SZSE: 300070)
• Beijing Venustech Inc (SZSE: 002439)
• Bluefocus PR Consulting (SZSE: 300058)
• BOE Technology Group (SZSE: A share:000725, B share: 200725)
• Bona Film Group Limited (NASDAQ: BONA)
• China Biologic Products, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBPO)
• ChinaCache International Holdings Ltd. (NASDAQ: CCIH)
• China Commercial Credit (NASDAQ: CCCR)
• China Digital TV Holding Co., Ltd (NYSE: STV)
• China Distance Education Holdings (NYSE: DL)
• China Mobile Game & Entertainment Group (NASDAQ: CMGE)
• China Hydroelectric Corporation (NYSE: CHC)
• China QUANJUDE Group (SZSE: 002186)
• Home Inns & Hotels Management Inc. (NASDAQ: HMIN)
• Leshi (SZSE: 300104)
• One Horizon Group Inc. (OTCBB: OHGI)
• Pacific Energy Development Corp. (OTCBB: PEDO)
• Sky-mobi Limited (NASDAQ: MOBI)
• Tiger Media, Inc. (NYSE: IDI)
• Vimicro International Corp. (NASDAQ: VIMC)
• Xueda Education Group (NYSE: XUE)
•  

The list of private companies presenting and/or available for one-on-ones includes:

• Guangzhou Onecloud Information Technology Limited Company**
• Jiangsu SAFE Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.**
• Megvii Inc.*
• MMB.CN**
• Rooftop Brands*
• Royal (Wuxi) Bio-Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.**
• Shanghai Bandweaver Technology Co., Ltd.**
• WINHA.COM*
• Wuxi Booyi Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd**
• Wuxi Chigoo Interactive Technology Co., Ltd. **
• Wuxi DSP Technologies Inc.**
• Wuxi Jiheng casting material co., Ltd.**
• Wuxi Naite Electromechanical Integrating Technology Co., Ltd.**

*Presenting   **Available for one-on-ones

List of additional companies available for one-on-ones:

• China Xiniya Fashion Limited (NYSE: XNY)
• Jiayuan.com International Ltd.(NASDAQ: DATE)
• Nutrastar International Inc. (OTCBB: NUIN)
• Orient Paper, Inc. (NYSE: ONP)
• SGOCO Group, Ltd. (NASDAQ: SGOC)
• Sinovac Biotech, Ltd. (NASDAQ: SVA)
• Sutor Technology Group Ltd. (NASDAQ: SUTR)
• Tri-Tech Holding Inc. (NASDAQ: TRIT)

In addition to corporate presentations, the conference will feature a full roster of panels and expert speakers including:

 

 

Welcome to the 2013 CHINA BEST IDEAS INVESTMENT CONFERENCE

With an improving macro-economic outlook and new government leadership in place, investors are taking a fresh look at investing in China. However, investors remain highly selective with a focus on companies with strong corporate governance and accounting practices, transparent business models, and a track record of being responsive to shareholder concerns.

Hosted by CCG and Marcum Bernstein & Pinchuk, the 2013 China Best Ideas Investment Conference will provide investors with the opportunity to meet with senior managementof Chinese companies that have weathered the storm of economic uncertainty and have shown a strong commitment to shareholder value. This one-day event - featuring 30 companies in the healthcare, technology, consumer products and specialty industrial sectors - can serve as a great introduction to China’s growth opportunities.

The conference is expected to draw over 300 investors, including fund managers, private equity, analysts, family offices, investment advisors and high net worth individuals.

SPECIAL FEATURES OF THIS EVENT

• Presenting companies were carefully selected for adhering to international corporate governance standards.
• Selected companies are representing sectors that are well-positioned as China shifts its economic focus towards domestic consumption and innovation.
• Expert panel members reveal investment perspectives and research of Chinese companies.
• Presentations and one-on-one meetings are designed to promote an open dialogue with senior management.

EXPERT PANELS TO INCLUDE

• China Macro: Rebalancing, Hard landing or Meltdown?
• China Due-Diligence Best Practices Workshop
• The China Corporate Governance Project
• Private vs. Public: Changing Financing Landscape for Chinese Corporates
• Going Global: The Next Generation of Chinese MNCs
• Investing in A-Share

SPECIAL EVENT – September 11, 2013

• A-Share Best Ideas Beijing Bus Tour
• Co-sponsored by the Shenzhen Stock Exchange

PRIVATE COMPANY TRACK

The China Best Ideas Conference offers a selection of high-quality, private Chinese companies with VC or private equity backing and strong consideration of an IPO in the US, Hong Kong or other overseas markets. With 20-minute presentations and opportunities for one-on-one meetings, this is a great opportunity for investors to get a “sneak peek” at the pipeline of future Chinese offerings. Managements will “road test” their presentation with sophisticated institutional investors and network with investment bankers and late-stage, private equity investors.

More Background On ChinaBestIdeasConference.com

ChinaBestIdeasConference.com was created as the official online home of the China Best Ideas Investment Conference, an investment and capital-markets event launched in Beijing in 2013. The inaugural conference took place September 10, 2013, at the Four Seasons Hotel Beijing and brought together Chinese public and private companies, institutional investors, analysts, investment bankers, accountants, lawyers and specialists in Chinese financial markets.

The website was more than a simple event announcement. It functioned as the conference's information and registration hub, explaining the purpose of the gathering, identifying presenting companies and speakers, publishing the program, promoting related events and helping qualified investors and corporate executives register.

At the center of the event was a difficult question facing international investors at the time: after several turbulent years for Chinese companies listed on U.S. exchanges, how could investors distinguish credible businesses from problematic ones?

The conference attempted to answer that question by emphasizing corporate governance, transparent accounting, due diligence and direct access to management. Its significance therefore extends beyond the companies that appeared on the program. ChinaBestIdeasConference.com captures a particular period in the evolution of China's relationship with international capital markets.

Who Organized the Conference?

The inaugural 2013 China Best Ideas Investment Conference was co-hosted by CCG Investor Relations and Marcum Bernstein & Pinchuk LLP, generally referred to as MarcumBP.

CCG was an investor-relations and strategic-communications consultancy with a long history of working with public and private companies across international capital markets. Contemporary descriptions identified it as a U.S.-headquartered global firm with offices that included New York and Beijing. CCG president Crocker Coulson was one of the principal organizers and moderators of the conference.

Marcum Bernstein & Pinchuk was a PCAOB-registered accounting firm with a substantial practice serving China-based companies participating in U.S. capital markets. At the time, it maintained operations in New York and several Chinese cities and offered audit, assurance, transaction advisory and related services.

Drew Bernstein, MarcumBP's managing partner, was another prominent figure in the event.

It is important to distinguish conference organization from ownership of the domain itself. Contemporary materials clearly establish CCG and MarcumBP as the conference's co-hosts, but publicly accessible sources reviewed for this history do not provide sufficiently reliable evidence to assign the historical domain registration itself to a particular individual or corporate entity.

The September 2013 Event in Beijing

The main conference was held September 10, 2013, at the Four Seasons Hotel Beijing, 48 LiangMaQiao Road in Beijing's Chaoyang District.

The location was well suited to an international financial conference. The Four Seasons had opened only in November 2012, making it a relatively new luxury hotel when the conference arrived the following September. It is in the Liangmahe area of Chaoyang, an important international-business and diplomatic part of Beijing containing foreign companies, embassies and news organizations.

The hotel is also within convenient reach of Beijing's Third Diplomatic Precinct, the Sanlitun entertainment and commercial district and the 798 Art District. The Forbidden City is farther toward central Beijing, while Beijing Capital International Airport is accessible from this northeastern portion of the city. In practical terms, the venue placed international visitors in one of the parts of Beijing most closely associated with embassies and multinational business.

The Four Seasons offered extensive meeting and banquet facilities, another reason it was appropriate for an event involving hundreds of attendees, simultaneous discussions, presentations and private meetings.

Why the Conference Was Created

The timing of the inaugural conference is crucial to understanding its purpose.

China remained one of the world's major growth stories, but enthusiasm for Chinese equities had become more cautious. International investors had experienced accounting controversies, allegations of fraud, short-seller attacks and problems involving some Chinese companies that had obtained U.S. listings, including through reverse mergers.

Consequently, simply being a fast-growing Chinese company was no longer enough to command investor confidence.

The conference's organizers explicitly emphasized stronger business models, international corporate-governance standards, transparent accounting and management teams responsive to shareholders. The "Best Ideas" concept was therefore partly a filtering mechanism: organizers wanted to present companies they believed deserved renewed consideration from sophisticated investors.

At the same time, China's economy itself was changing. Policymakers were discussing a transition away from an economic model heavily dependent on investment and exports toward one involving greater domestic consumption, services and innovation. That created opportunities in technology, healthcare, consumer products, media and other industries represented at the conference.

Popularity and Attendance

The event appears to have generated substantial interest for an inaugural specialized investment conference.

Early promotional material anticipated more than 300 investors. By August 28, organizers reported that more than 42 companies would be presenting or meeting with more than 150 investors and described the event as approaching a sellout. Overall attendance was expected to exceed 450 when investors, company executives, capital-markets specialists and other professionals were combined.

Post-event accounts reported that the conference drew more than 300 investors, including fund managers, private-equity professionals, analysts, family offices, investment advisers and high-net-worth individuals.

Another useful indication of scale is company participation. Different announcements cited different numbers as the roster evolved—20, 30, 35 and ultimately more than 42 companies appear in various stages of promotion. That is not necessarily contradictory. Preliminary lists expanded as additional public companies, private businesses and companies available only for one-on-one meetings joined the program.

A later corporate presentation from ChinaNet independently described the event as drawing more than 300 investors, providing corroboration beyond material published directly by the organizers.

The Companies Investors Could Meet

One of the site's most useful functions was identifying participating businesses.

The final lineup included companies from a broad range of industries and exchanges. Among the better-known names were Bona Film Group, China Biologic Products, ChinaCache International Holdings, China Digital TV Holding, China Distance Education Holdings, Home Inns & Hotels Management, China Mobile Game & Entertainment Group, Vimicro International and Xueda Education Group.

Domestic Chinese exchange-listed businesses were represented as well, including Beijing Origin Water Technology, Beijing Venustech, BlueFocus PR Consulting, BOE Technology Group and China Quanjude Group.

The conference also contained a private-company component. Participating or one-on-one companies included Megvii, Guangzhou Onecloud Information Technology, Jiangsu SAFE Pharmaceutical, Royal (Wuxi) Bio-Pharmaceutical, Shanghai Bandweaver Technology and several technology and industrial companies from Wuxi.

This private-company track was particularly interesting because it allowed investors to examine businesses that might eventually pursue IPOs in the United States, Hong Kong or other overseas markets.

Instead of waiting for a formal IPO roadshow, investors could meet management earlier in the process. For private companies, meanwhile, the conference provided an opportunity to test their investment story before a financially sophisticated audience.

What Was on the Conference "Menu"

For a conference website, the equivalent of a menu was its program of panels, presentations, workshops and meetings.

The day began with a macroeconomic discussion provocatively titled "China Macro: Re-Balancing, Hard Landing or Meltdown?" The panel included Patrick Chovanec of Silvercrest Asset Management, Fraser Howie, co-author of Red Capitalism, and Michael Pettis, author of The Great Rebalancing and a professor at Peking University's Guanghua School of Management.

That lineup illustrates an important feature of the event. It was not designed merely to promote participating companies. Some speakers were well known for critical or skeptical analysis of China's financial system.

A due-diligence workshop featured figures including Dan David of GeoInvesting and Jon Carnes of Alfredlittle.com, both associated with investigating Chinese public companies. Their inclusion meant that concerns about fraud and inadequate disclosure were being confronted rather than ignored.

Another panel, the China Corporate Governance Project, dealt specifically with governance. Participants included Paul Gillis of Peking University, Drew Bernstein of MarcumBP and venture-capital executive Tony Luh.

A finance roundtable examined the changing financing landscape for Chinese corporations, while another session considered investing in domestic Chinese A-shares, including QFII quotas, research, trading and transparency.

The afternoon included company presentations and one-on-one investor meetings, turning the broader policy and governance discussion into practical investment research.

Capital Markets & Accounting Bootcamp

The conference effectively became a multi-day program because a Capital Markets & Accounting Bootcamp was held at the Four Seasons on September 9.

This half-day event targeted CEOs, directors, CFOs and other senior executives of U.S.-listed and pre-IPO Chinese companies.

Subjects included investor appetite for Chinese debt and equity, IPO strategy, going-private transactions, possible relisting in Hong Kong or China's A-share market, outbound mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance and financial reporting.

Pryor Cashman partner Elizabeth Fei Chen, for example, presented a session examining the going-private process, including timing, costs and deal multiples.

The larger objective was educational. Chinese executives needed to understand what international investors, auditors, regulators and capital-markets professionals expected after the controversies that had damaged confidence in portions of the U.S.-listed China sector.

The A-Share Company Tour

The program continued on September 11 with the China Best Ideas A-Share Company Tour in Beijing, co-sponsored by the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

Investors were given an opportunity to learn about Chinese domestic-market companies and the evolving mechanisms through which foreign institutions could participate in mainland securities markets.

This component reveals that the conference's ambitions extended beyond U.S.-listed Chinese stocks. Organizers were trying to connect international capital with several parts of China's financial ecosystem: overseas-listed companies, pre-IPO businesses and domestic A-share corporations.

The involvement of representatives from the Shenzhen Stock Exchange also gave the event an institutional dimension that went beyond an ordinary small-cap investor conference.

Sponsors and Professional-Service Firms

The conference attracted a substantial group of sponsors.

Platinum sponsors included Caixin.com, DLA Piper and WINHA.COM. Gold sponsors included Rooftop Brands and Loeb & Loeb. Other sponsors included professional-services, legal, valuation, communications, technology and real-estate organizations such as Albeck Financial, CBRE Group, Dorsey & Whitney, Duff & Phelps, Equisolve, PR Newswire, Pryor Cashman and Zero2IPO/Pedaily.

Loeb & Loeb's own event records confirm its involvement and the Four Seasons venue, while Pryor Cashman's historical event page documents its sponsorship and Elizabeth Chen's participation.

Equisolve separately announced its sponsorship and described more than 60 public and private Chinese companies as being represented across the related events.

The range of sponsors is revealing. The conference was not simply about finding stocks. It existed within a broader cross-border infrastructure consisting of auditors, lawyers, investor-relations firms, investment bankers, exchanges, financial media and other advisers serving Chinese businesses seeking international capital.

Admission and Intended Audience

ChinaBestIdeasConference.com was aimed primarily at a professional financial audience rather than ordinary retail investors.

Institutional investors, family offices, equity analysts, venture-capital funds, private-equity funds and management or directors of public and pre-IPO companies could attend free of charge. Contemporary registration information listed a $495 fee for other attendees.

This structure tells us something about the conference's business model and objectives. The most valuable participants were not necessarily ticket buyers. They were investors capable of providing capital and executives capable of generating transactions and professional-services relationships.

The website therefore functioned as a business-development platform as much as an event-marketing site.

Speakers and Intellectual Depth

Several speakers gave the conference credibility beyond its corporate presentations.

Michael Pettis was already widely recognized for his analysis of China's economic imbalances. Fraser Howie's Red Capitalism had been named among notable business books after examining vulnerabilities within China's financial system. Patrick Chovanec had taught at Tsinghua University and became a prominent international commentator on China's economy.

Paul Gillis brought specialist expertise in Chinese accounting and auditing from his position at Peking University and his earlier career with PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The presence of skeptical investors and investigators such as Dan David and Jon Carnes was particularly noteworthy. An investment conference seeking to rehabilitate interest in Chinese securities could easily have avoided such voices. Instead, due diligence and the possibility of corporate misconduct became explicit topics.

That combination of company promotion and critical examination helps explain the event's distinctive identity.

Press and Media Coverage

The conference received extensive trade and corporate publicity rather than the kind of consumer-media reviews associated with entertainment or technology conferences.

PR Newswire distributed numerous announcements during 2013 covering the conference launch, registration, presenting companies, the Capital Markets & Accounting Bootcamp, A-share programming, sponsors and the final lineup.

Professional firms including Pryor Cashman, Loeb & Loeb, Equisolve and MarcumBP published their own event notices or sponsorship announcements. GeoInvesting also carried information about the event.

This distributed coverage significantly extended the reach of ChinaBestIdeasConference.com because announcements repeatedly directed interested readers to the conference website for registration and additional information.

Traditional "reviews" of the conference are comparatively difficult to find. The surviving record is dominated by organizer announcements, sponsor pages and participant references rather than independent post-event reviews. Claims about reception should therefore be treated cautiously. What can be documented is strong participation and enough institutional support to produce a second annual conference.

From an Inaugural Event to a Second Annual Conference

One of the strongest indicators that the 2013 conference achieved its organizers' objectives is what happened next.

MarcumBP announced a second annual China Best Ideas Investment Conference for September 16, 2014, at the St. Regis Beijing.

The 2014 announcement explicitly described the new conference as building on the success of the inaugural 2013 event. It retained the basic idea of identifying high-quality U.S.-listed and pre-IPO Chinese companies while discussing governance, economic reform and international capital.

Organizers later reported that companies selected for the previous conference had subsequently experienced average share-price increases exceeding 50 percent. That was an organizer-reported statistic rather than an independently constructed performance index, so it should not be interpreted as a verified investment return. Nevertheless, it shows how the organizers themselves evaluated and marketed the first conference's results.

The second event also addressed continuing controversies involving China concept stocks, the revival of Chinese technology IPOs and global merger-and-acquisition opportunities.

An Important Later Regulatory Chapter

The conference acquired an unexpected place in U.S. auditing regulatory history several years later.

In September 2019, the U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board issued an enforcement order involving Marcum Bernstein & Pinchuk. The PCAOB found that the accounting firm had failed to satisfy applicable auditor-independence criteria in connection with its conduct surrounding the China Best Ideas Investment Conferences in 2013 and 2014.

The issue was not that holding an investment conference was inherently improper. The regulatory concern involved an auditor's independence when audit clients were being promoted to potential investors through a conference with which the audit firm was involved.

The PCAOB censured MarcumBP, imposed a $50,000 civil monetary penalty and required the firm to review policies, procedures, staffing and training relating to auditor independence.

This later development is significant when assessing the conference historically. One of its principal themes had been better corporate governance, stronger accounting and restoring investor confidence in Chinese issuers. The subsequent PCAOB action demonstrated how complicated the relationships among auditors, issuers, investors and promotional activities could be.

It also makes the China Best Ideas conferences a small but noteworthy case study in the evolution of professional-independence standards surrounding cross-border capital markets.

Awards and Recognition

No reliable evidence was located showing that ChinaBestIdeasConference.com or the 2013 conference itself received a formal award.

That distinction matters because some promotional material mentioned industry honors received by CCG Investor Relations and professional accomplishments of individual speakers or organizations. Those honors should not be confused with awards bestowed on the China Best Ideas Investment Conference itself.

The event's more meaningful measure of recognition was participation: hundreds of investors, dozens of companies, major professional-services sponsors, representatives connected with the Shenzhen Stock Exchange and a roster of recognizable China economists and financial-market specialists.

Its continuation into 2014 provides another concrete measure of institutional acceptance.

Cultural and Financial Significance

The most interesting aspect of ChinaBestIdeasConference.com today is the historical moment it preserves.

During the early 2010s, international enthusiasm for China's economic growth collided with serious questions about whether investors could trust the financial statements and governance of every Chinese company accessing U.S. markets.

The conference existed directly at that intersection.

Its program reveals the concerns of the era: fraud, due diligence, auditor credibility, shareholder rights, going-private transactions, overseas IPOs, domestic A-shares, QFII access, China's economic rebalancing and the emergence of globally competitive Chinese companies.

It also shows how intertwined U.S. and Chinese capital markets had become. American accountants and law firms worked alongside Chinese corporations and exchange representatives. Chinese companies sought U.S. investors. International fund managers wanted exposure to Chinese growth but demanded stronger transparency. Private Chinese businesses considered IPOs in New York or Hong Kong while established public companies debated whether remaining overseas-listed was worthwhile.

ChinaBestIdeasConference.com served as the digital meeting point for those interests.

What ChinaBestIdeasConference.com Is Known For

Historically, the site is best understood as the web presence of a specialized cross-border investment conference rather than as a conventional financial-news or investment-advice website.

Its defining characteristics were its focus on Chinese companies considered attractive candidates for international investment; emphasis on corporate governance, accounting and transparency; access to senior corporate management; mixture of listed and pre-IPO businesses; expert discussions about China's economy; and opportunities for private one-on-one meetings between companies and investors.

The conference also differed from a purely promotional investor roadshow because its agenda incorporated difficult questions about fraud, due diligence and weaknesses in China's capital-market ecosystem.

For researchers today, the site is valuable precisely because of those details. Company rosters, speaker biographies and session titles provide a snapshot of who was active in the China-U.S. investment world in 2013 and what issues occupied them.

The Lasting Value of the Website

ChinaBestIdeasConference.com documents an event that might otherwise survive primarily as scattered press releases, law-firm event listings and corporate investor-relations references.

The inaugural September 2013 gathering brought together hundreds of investors and dozens of Chinese companies at a moment when confidence in overseas-listed Chinese businesses was being rebuilt. It combined investment pitches with discussions of accounting, governance, macroeconomics and due diligence, while its associated bootcamp and A-share tour broadened the event into a multi-day examination of China's changing relationship with global capital.

The conference was sufficiently established to return in 2014, making the 2013 event the beginning of a series rather than an isolated meeting.

Its subsequent appearance in a PCAOB auditor-independence enforcement action adds another layer to its historical importance. In retrospect, the conference illustrates both the promise and complexity of the era: enormous international appetite for participation in China's growth coupled with equally serious demands for trustworthy accounting, effective oversight and transparent corporate governance.

That combination is ultimately what makes ChinaBestIdeasConference.com worth preserving and studying. It is a digital record of a particular stage in China's financial globalization—when investors, executives, regulators and advisers were attempting to determine how Chinese companies could participate credibly and successfully in international capital markets

ChinaBestIdeasConference.com