"We hope DMG may achieve listing-compatible performance within 18 months." According to Vice President Zhu of Gobi Company--a DMG investor--the possibility of listing in the United States is high and the ideal funding amount should exceed $100 million.

Flexible, diversified and modern outdoor advertising is a force to be reckoned with. It has become the third major publication media after television and newspapers. Advertising media across all fields of expertise in China are grasping the opportunity to mark their territory, and VCs are all geared up to "snatch" good projects. On July 11, Digital Advertising Channels, which has a special interest in airport media networks, announced it has obtained $35 million from investors led by AsiaVest Investment Co. Ltd. Participants in this round of fundraising included two-time investors IDG Venture Capital and Australia's Seven Network.

By the end of June, Touch Media, which focuses on "interactive touch panels" in taxis and operates mainly in Shanghai and Beijing, had secured a new round of funding of nearly $100 million, and the capital will be released by stages over three years. Last year, Touch Media completed its first round of fund raising from Ascend Venture Partner, Qiming Venture Partners and Shanghai Venture Capital.

Focus Media, after becoming a legend through elevator advertising, has been searching for new margin growth points. In March 2006, it acquired Dotad Media Network Technology to jointly develop an advertising service system for mobile phones. In March 2007, it acquired All Yes and entered the online advertising arena. At the same time, Chinese Media, which has established nationwide elevator media networks in more than 40 first-line cities including Shenzhen, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hangzhou, attracted the attention of Time Share Media and became a strong competitor of Focus Media. On July 13, 2007, Time Share Media invested $10 million in Chinese Media as first-round funding and became the sole agent for Chinese Media's elevator media. Carlyle Group, once the only VC investor of Target Media, invested $20 million in Time Share Media and is currently waiting for payback.

Green energy-saving concepts

Although there is no comparison to outdoor advertising media in both quantity and caliber, green and clean investment projects have attracted the attention of VCs.

The Comprehensive Work Program for Energy Conservation and Emission Reduction recently released by China pointed out that by 2010, the country's energy consumption and total emission of main pollutants will be reduced by 20 percent and 10 percent respectively.

From 2006 to 2010, China's total investment in environment protection will top 1.37 trillion yuan.

Many of the energy sector's sub-markets will benefit from China's policy changes. In addition to its existing investment of $10 billion, Citibank recently announced it would invest another $50 billion over 10 years to support enterprises engaged in replacement energy sources, green technologies and other carbon-emission reducing initiatives.

"Energy consumption in buildings, for example, accounts for 27-30 percent of total energy consumption in China," said Ye Weijia, China Regional Project Director of New Venture Investment (a charity project subsidized by international organizations), while analyzing the potential of some industries based on sustainable development. "But the energy usage efficiency of buildings in China is only half of that in Europe. The potential for improvement in this sector is enormous. Enterprises involved in energy conservation for buildings and with system integration abilities will have tremendous space for growth."

Support for green environment protection has become a global phenomenon. Recently, energy-saving glass manufacturer Sage Electrochromics announced it has completed its second-round fund raising, achieving a total of $16 million, led by Swiss venture capitalist Good Energies. It expects to obtain further funding of $13 million in the future. The glass and skylights produced by Sage Electrochromics can effectively reduce the dissipation of indoor heat to save energy, thus meeting the special requirements of Good Energies, a company focusing on investing in the energy sector.

According to the latest reports, Tsing Capital has recently created its third China environmental protection fund (China Environment Fund III) which is expected to raise $150 million in capital. This will undoubtedly add glamor to the green concepts.

Explanation of terms

Bridge fund: A kind of short-term funding to be used for up to six months. The purpose of a bridge fund is to use short-term financing to connect with long-term funding. Eventually, the long-term fund will replace the bridge fund.

Mezzanine capital: A kind of capital investment with risks and payback rated between priority investment claims (such as bonds and loans) and equity investment. In general, it carries more risks than venture capital and LBO funds. It is commonly used by companies accepting follow-up venture capital, or when the bank's high-quality loan cannot provide all the funds required by the acquisition in the event of a leveraged buyout.